Project type : ,
What they do : Gas from the garbage decomposing at the landfill is collected and destroyed in a flare instead of being released into the atmosphere.
Where they are : Dorchester County, Maryland
Portfolio years : 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Start date :
Standard : Climate Action Reserve (California Climate Action Registry)
Verifier : First Environment
Comments : Download the responses to project comments
Highlights : Carbon offsets are currently the only source of revenue for the operation of this project because the quantity of landfill gas available is too small to enable investment in electricity generators.
About the project :
The “New Beulah” landfill is a county-owned, active waste disposal facility in Dorchester County, Maryland. The County began depositing waste at New Beulah in 1996, and the landfill currently waste distributed over four landfill cells. A small fifth cell has been permitted for use, which will serve the County’s needs through approximately 2012. When the landfill has reached its permitted capacity, it will be capped and closed. As County officials hope to continue providing local disposal capacity for its residents beyond 2012, the County is working to permit a new landfill on an adjacent site within the property boundaries.
The gas collection and control system will come online in phases, although the majority of the piping and infrastructure has already been installed. The collection system is sized to handle the maximum gas flow from all five cells of the landfill, and the enclosed flare is sized to accommodate both the New Beulah landfill and the post-2012 landfill planned by the County.
Because New Beulah is a small landfill with no expansion permitted, its current and projected landfill gas generation profile does not support investment in electricity generators. If the County is successful in its efforts to permit the new landfill, Curtis Engine and Equipment has committed to the County to install electricity generation capability at the site.
In the community :
The landfill provides other benefits to the community, like improving air quality and preventing odor in surrounding areas. It benefits Dorchester County by significantly reducing its carbon footprint and provides a revenue source for the County through Curtis Engine’s gas purchase agreement. The project developer has designed the gas collection system to be easily augmented to accommodate the new landfill. This forward-thinking design and investment will enable Dorchester County to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from any future landfill expansions.
New Beulah’s permitted capacity is smaller than the Clean Air Act’s threshold for Title V operating permits, so the landfill is not required to control its emissions. Similarly, no state or local regulations require the landfill to capture its methane. This project is unusual in that it uses carbon offset revenue to enable early construction of a gas control system at a landfill that may never be large enough to support electricity generation. We hope this project structure can be replicated elsewhere through this example.
