Idaho landfill eyes power production

BURLEY, Idaho – Operators of a Southern Idaho landfill are studying the possibility of using methane gas generated by the massive trash pile to produce electricity for homes and businesses.

Officials at Southern Idaho Solid Waste say research is under way to determine if they can install methane-fueled power generators at its Milner Butte Landfill near Burley. The landfill is a dumping point for garbage collected in seven south-central Idaho counties.

The facility installed a methane gas collection system in September to comply with new federal regulations, and researchers are now testing and tracking data on the landfill’s gas flow rates.

Josh Bartlome, the environmental specialist conducting the system’s initial testing, said the gas is reaching flows between 315 and 330 standard cubic feet per minute, more than enough to support a generator in the future.

“We don’t have a specific timeline for generating power right now because we don’t know exactly what the data is going to tell us,” he said. “But we’re above and beyond what we expected.”

Methane is a naturally occurring gas and byproduct of decomposition. The methane captured at the site is being burned off with a flare. Operators say they are months away from developing a strategy for how best to convert the gas into electricity and getting it to the power grid.

So far, there is only one Idaho landfill generating power from its methane supply, according to Gene Fadness, spokesman for the Idaho Public Utilities Commission: the Ada County Landfill in southwest Idaho, which supplies 3.2 megawatts of power to Idaho Power Co.

Ada County Landfill Manager Ted Hutchinson said the utility supplied and owns the generators and buys the gas from the county, paying about $225,000 a year.

He said the county is drilling more gas wells in the landfill to tap additional methane sources.