Waste Management expands its waste-to-energy operations

Waste Management (NYSE: WMI), today announced plans to expand its limited landfill gas to energy operations at landfills throughout North America.

The program is to create an additional 60 renewable energy facilities in North America over the next five years, which, together its existing prototype waste to energy facilities, should generate more than 700 megawatts of renewable energy.

That's equivalent to the output of two small coal power plants, enough to power 700,000 homes or replace over eight million barrels of oil per year in North America.

Paul Pabor, vice president of renewable energy for Waste Management, told the Cleantech Group the company currently runs gas-to-energy projects at 100 of its landfills today, with approximately three quarters of them producing electricity using modified Caterpillar engines to drive electrical turbines.

Landfill gas-powered projects are especially valuable to utilities because they provide dependable base load power, in contrast to the intermittent nature of other renewable energy sources like solar and wind.

A pioneer in landfill gas projects, Waste Management designed and operated its first such facility in the United States over 20 years ago.

Landfill gas is comprised of approximately 50 to 60 per cent methane and 40 to 50 per cent carbon dioxide. At most landfills, it's simply burned off, or "flared." However, the gas can be collected and used to fuel onsite engines or turbines, generating electricity to power surrounding communities and creating a new revenue stream for the landfills and offsetting the use of fossil fuel at utility power plants.

With 281 landfills, Houston-based Waste Management is North America's largest landfill operator.

Many other companies are pursuing waste to energy initiatives. Read the Cleantech Group's latest coverage of the sector here.

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