Plan to burn landfill gas for power revisited

Consultant says private developer is best option

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — County legislators are addressing a proposal that has been cropping up now and then since 2002: turning gas from the county landfill into electricity.

At the Sullivan County Public Works Committee meeting on Thursday, September 7, Peter Kuniholm, vice president of SCS Engineers, told legislators that a profit could be made from the methane gas generated at the landfill, which is currently burned off at two flares.

Kuniholm said that the best way to go about such a project would be for the county to sell the methane gas to a private developer, who could burn it, and sell the electricity into the state electric market. Kuniholm did not say how much electricity could be produced, but similar projects were expected to supply more than 40 households with electricity on a year-round basis.

Kuniholm said the process was too complex to be handled by county staff. He said that under deregulation, it is now more difficult to sell power into the market because it is sold on a daily basis and must be closely managed.

He further said that the managers of small generating facilities, such as one that would exploit the landfill methane, need to be “faster on their feet, than the typical municipality.”

Kuniholm said the county could sell the gas at a specified cost, and the private developer would take care of all other issues, including any odor complaints that might arise if the gas were handled improperly.

The question of using the methane to produce electricity for a specific facility, such as the soon-to-be-built new county jail, was addressed. Kuniholm said it would be possible to build a stipulation into an agreement that would provide for such service, but that would make the project less financially attractive because it would lessen the amount of electricity that the developer could sell into the market, and thus lessen the potential profit.

Another factor that might deter a private developer is that the future of the landfill is up in the air. While there may be enough methane created by “phase one” of the landfill to generate a profit, the real attraction would be the additional methane that would be generated when “phase two” goes into operation. At present, “phase two” is still mired in a protracted permitting process.

Regardless, said Kuniholm, it was important that the board act quickly on the matter because of tax considerations made in Washington, D.C. There are currently tax credits in place for companies that operate such facilities, but those tax credits expire at the end of 2007.

Public versus private

Dick Riseling, an activist who has been urging county lawmakers to get involved in the production of alternative energy, did not agree that the best way to handle this sort of project was through a private company. “There are many communities around the country who operate their own facilities,” he said. “Why should most of the profits go to a private company?” Calling the county government “risk averse,” he said, “private companies hire scientists and engineers to work for them, why can’t we?”

Lawmakers took no action on the proposed methane plant, but may visit the issue again at their next meeting on October 5.