WEBER COUNTY, Utah — From trash to treasure: A pilot program in Weber County is trying to find ways to bring clean energy to its communities, and officials say they have been successful so far.
"This landfill exists next to a river. That’s not allowed anymore because of the gases that are emitted, because of the pollution that comes from it. So we are doing our part to alleviate that from our environment in Weber County,” said Weber County Commissioner Sharon Bolos.
The county partnered with Qnergy, a local company based in Ogden, to convert methane gas from a closed landfill in West Ogden into usable power.
"That landfill is producing low-grade fuel. That fuel is full of a variety of contaminants and is making that fuel pretty much unusable for any other source of conversion. You can’t use this fuel pretty much in any other engine,” explained Isaac Garaway, the chief technology officer with Qnergy. “But we can take that fuel and we can combust it, and we combust that in a very efficient process, and we convert that fuel into heat, and then our technology can convert heat into electricity."
The pilot program started in September, and the county says it’s been a success so far.
"We're generating a lot of energy off of this, and we're also getting carbon credits which is a great opportunity for the county to bring in a revenue stream off of something that’s harmful for the environment,” said Stephanie Russell, the Weber County economic development director.
Just from the 3-5% of the landfill being used so far, they are able to generate enough electricity to power about five homes. The company and county are still figuring out how to use the power — whether it goes to buildings nearby, electric car chargers, or back to the grid.
"I hope it changes some of the attitudes that people have towards their personal ownership. This is everyone's trash — now this landfill is older than all of us, but this is our responsibility to take care of, and it's not done. It’s still polluting and it’s still our responsibility,” said Spencer Thomason, a biofuel product manager at Qnergy.
Through wells drilled into the ground, the gas moves through pipes and is later converted. Without this, the methane gas would seep out of the ground and pollute the air.
"We're providing a reduction in emissions to the county, as well as smells and odors and other negative impacts that the community feels from a source that can’t easily be picked up and moved,” added Garaway.
The next phase of the project is utilizing gases from the whole landfill, and trying to bring other cities on board to try the technology in their closed landfills.
