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Collecting landfill gas has netted the city millions of dollars and now the energy project is being expanded

Approximately 2,438 metres of perforated pipe are being installed in the Sudbury Landfill Site’s waste disposal area to collect landfill gasses to be converted into electricity for the grid

Equipment is currently being mobilized at the Sudbury Landfill Site for work to begin on a green energy expansion project.

Approximately 2,438 metres of perforated pipe will be buried at the site’s main waste disposal area, where the infrastructure will collect landfill gasses to feed an engine that converts it into electricity.

The energy it creates, city acting director of environmental services Renee Brownlee said, is enough to power an average of 1,100 homes per year.

Last year’s production was 9,410,890 KwH, which was enough to power approximately 1,045 homes — a slight dip in production that points to why the expansion project is necessary.

Brownlee recently joined acting manager of waste process and disposal services Kerry Loken in offering Sudbury.com a tour through the project’s footprint, which begins at the site’s waste disposal area.

From the side of the area, it looks like a large, grassy hill with an abundance of gulls. 

“What you’re seeing here under all this pretty grass is landfill mix,” Brownlee said, noting that on top of the hill, dump trucks are continually adding to the pile. 

Within the hill itself are two layers of perforated pipes that collect gasses for energy production. The third layer of these pipes is being installed closer to the surface.

Pointing midway up the hill, Brownlee said, “That waste down there is getting old, it has given off its gas, so it’s producing less and less. To keep the system flowing and creating a good flow of gas you have to continue to add those layers as you build up the waste.”

As such, she said the new layer of pipes, which comes at a cost of approximately $176,000, is a means of maintaining their energy-generating operations.

From the network of underground pipes, gasses are vacuumed into a treatment facility and then an engine, which turns a generator and creates power that is fed into the Greater Sudbury Utilities grid.

The loud engine is contained in a small building next to the base of the hill and generates power 24/7, minus a few hours per month when it is being maintained. While maintenance is taking place, gasses are burned off in a stack. 

Last year, the project resulted in municipal revenue of $357,000. It has been in operation since 2007 and has brought in a total of approximately $4 million and contributed 140,545,666 KwH of electricity.

The gas collected is primarily methane and carbon dioxide, and Brownlee said that collecting it serves a dual purpose of cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions and creating green energy.

Although only a small portion of the gasses collected are odour-producing ammonia and sulfites, the process also cuts down on some landfill odours.

This expansion project is expected to be completed by the end of March, during which there’s a possibility of an increase in landfill odour as the result of excavating required to place the new network of pipes.

That said, Loken clarified that work is taking place during the winter in part because odour travels less when it is cold outside.

The city will be maintaining odour mitigative measures throughout the project, but will be fine-tuning in accordance with whatever complaints they receive, which can be made online at 311.greatersudbury.ca or by phoning 311. 

Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com. 


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Tyler Clarke

About the Author: Tyler Clarke

Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
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