CRD replacing gas-to-electricity plant at Hartland Landfill with new facility

(Capital Regional District/Facebook)

A new energy plant that converts landfill gas into renewable natural gas (RNG) is coming to the Hartland Landfill, the Capital Regional District announced Wednesday.

The RNG facility will take gas generated by organic waste in the landfill and convert it into renewable natural gas, which is a "carbon-neutral energy," according to the CRD.

The upgraded biogas will then be sold to FortisBC to be mixed and used with its existing natural gas distribution system.

The CRD says the new facility will reduce the region's greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 450,000 tonnes over the next 25 years.

It will also replace the landfill's existing gas to electricity plant, which was built 2004.

The electricity plant currently provides power to about 1,600 homes in the region. However, the CRD says the plant's reaching the end of its service life, and would need to be expanded to keep up with the increasing volume of biogas being generated at the Hartland Landfill.

Instead of expanding the plant, the CRD decided to replace it with the RNG facility, which will be built in the same space as the existing electricity plant without the need for a larger property.

It can also accommodate the increase in biogas being generated at the landfill, and RNG has a "number of end uses" that electricity does not have, according to the CRD.

The new RNG facility will be built by Waga Energy. The CRD has a contract with Waga Energy to design and build the facility by September 2024, and to operate it on the CRD's behalf for the next 25 years.

It's also responsible for decommissioning the current gas to electricity plant.

CTV News has reached out to the CRD for further details, including the estimated construction cost of the new facility. 

The CRD estimates the new facility will cost $30.2 million to build, and that the facility will pay for itself over five to eight years of operation through the revenue made by the sale of biogas to FortisBC.