ROANOKE, Va. – A new project at a Roanoke County landfill will turn methane emissions into a steady stream of renewable energy—and revenue. The Roanoke Valley Resource Authority plans to make the most of what’s underground.
At Smith Gap Landfill, hundreds of thousands of tons of waste come in every year. That waste produces methane gas, which is typically burned off—until now, when the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority is ready to cash in on it.
Jeremy Garrett, director of operations and technical services at Roanoke Valley Resource Authority, said, “But now, with the RNG plant, we can clean and sell it as a usable commodity—renewable natural gas.”
Currently, the gas wells and vacuum system pull methane from the waste and send it to a flare. But soon, the gas will be diverted past that flare, straight to a new power plant.
“Our flare, as long as we’re producing gas for the gas plant, the flare would no longer need to be running. So, therefore, we won’t be actively off-gassing into the atmosphere as we have under our current compliance,” Garrett explained.
The authority is partnering with Archaea Energy, a company owned by BP, to build a power plant to turn methane gas into renewable natural gas. This all comes at no cost to the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority, but it will generate more revenue.
“As it stands right now, we anticipate getting on the low end of approximately $800,000 annually from the RNG contract. I am hopeful that that number may hit in a more positive direction based off of the gas quality and the total gas production,” Garrett said.
So what does it mean for the community?
“It would allow us to be in a stronger position to hopefully stabilize our tipping rates for the member communities,” Garrett added.
The project is still in the early stages of permitting, with construction of the plant yet to begin.