The Loudon County Solid Waste Disposal Commission has worked out a deal to develop a landfill gas collection system that will turn methane gas into a clean energy source.
The county commission reached an agreement with Santek Environmental on March 8 to develop the landfill gas collection system at the Matlock Bend Landfill.
Santek will manage the landfill on behalf of the commission. Under the agreement, Santek will design and build the system, get a permit from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to operate it and manage it as its cost. Santek will then give a portion of the revenue from the sale of the energy to the county.
The landfill gas system is expected to cost about $1.2 million and could potentially generate enough energy to power up to 1,500 homes.
Santek currently has agreements with four other cities in East Tennessee to implement landfill gas systems.
"Although our landfill is below the threshold requiring us to control methane gas emissions, limiting this air pollutant is one of our primary objectives for capturing methane," said commission vice chairman Dr. Bill Waldrop. "Converting [gas] to energy will be a bonus."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that methane gas is about 22 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas and contributes to the creation of smog. Solid waste landfills are the second largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S.
"We're reducing an air pollutant, generating green energy and producing additional revenue to promote better solid waste programs for our county," Waldrop said. "It's a win-win-win deal for everyone."