Ameresco EVP Says “Let’s Use What’s Already in the Air” for the Natural Gas we Need

 Ameresco Hoping New Plant at Republic Services’ Brickyard Landfill South of Danville Leads to More Momentum for Turning Landfill Gas into Renewable Natural Gas

If you head south on Routes 1 and 150 just past I-74, and turn east at the Family Dollar Store, you’ll be heading right towards Republic Services’ Brickyard Landfill.  And a new plant now in operation there by Ameresco is at work turning landfill gas into renewable natural gas.

Ameresco Executive Vice-President Michael Bakas says he very much agrees with Republic Services’ long-term sustainability goal to beneficially reuse 50% more biogas by the year 2030.  Right now, Ameresco’s Brickyard Landfill Renewable Natural Gas plant is capturing the natural landfill gas and turning in into a low-carbon transportation fuel.  The idea to to displace diesel vehicle fuel, with enough fuel produced by this facility alone to reduce over 27,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Bakas says as far as he’s concerned, even beyond when it comes to vehicles already using CNG, compressed natural gas; renewable landfill gas should be the goal of the future.  And a simple reason for that is; to get more regular natural gas, you have to drill.  But landfill gas is already there, going right into our atmosphere.  So let’s put it to work.

AUDIO: The concept is, let’s use all the methane that’s already in the environment and accounted for, before we drill another BTU of gas.  It doesn’t make any sense.  And that’s what this project does.  We take waste that society produces, and we transition it into a clean tech fuel.  Which is awesome.

Bakas says the development of this industry has really been taking off since it was jumpstarted during the George H.W. Bush Administration’s Clean Air Act Amendments, as Bush himself visited an Ameresco plant in South Carolina.  Ameresco Senior Vice-President for Corporate Marketing Leila Dillon says she has no doubt that future presidential administrations will see the benefits of this, and encourage the road to more decarbonization.  Because there is a solid foundation already.

AUDIO: We have a fantastic relationship with Republic Services.  And they have quite a pipeline of projects that they’re working on, that will come to fruition over the next five or ten years or so.

And if you want to compare landfill gas converted to compressed natural gas used to power vehicles to electric vehicles; Bakas says consider this: you need to remember what goes into making the electricity used in electric vehicles.

AUDIO: Fifty-sixty percent of all the electricity produced in this country is still non-renewable.  Even though there’s not a tailpipe emission coming off the electric vehicle, the electric vehicle is not truly 100% renewable in most cases.

Bakas says there is more and more thinking now about sending some of the converted biogas from landfills to the power plants, raising the likelihood of “greening the grid,” to help make electric vehicles of the future 100% renewable.