Project Economics of Landfill Gas Energy

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Project Economics of Landfill Gas Energy

• Brian Guzzone
• US EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program
• June 8, 2006
• LaGrange, Georgia

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Why Use Landfill Gas?

• Local, available fuel source easy to capture and
  use
• Source of renewable energy
• Constant supply - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Reliable technologies exist for using landfill
  gas - gt90 up time
• Uses a source of energy that otherwise would have
  been wasted
• Helps the environment by reducing uncontrolled
  emissions of landfill gas

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Why Use Landfill Gas? Heres Why!
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Cost Categories

• Gas collection and control system (GCCS)
• Gas treatment
• Blower/flare station
• Electricity generator sets
• Direct Use pipeline and retrofit costs
• Operation and Maintenance

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Gas collection and control system wellfield
schematic
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Gas collection and control system wellheads and
header piping
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Gas collection and control system blower/flare
station and treatment
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Typical GCCS and Treatment System Costs 900 cfm,
50 acre site
If more extensive treatment system needed
(siloxane removal, coalescing filters, carbon
filters, refrigeration, etc.), costs will be
higher.
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What are my options?

• Direct Use
• Electricity Production
• Combined Heat and Power
• Alternate Fuels

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Direct Gas Utilization

• Boilers
• Direct thermal applications
• Innovative applications
• Greenhouses
• Infrared heaters
• Pottery kilns
• Leachate evaporation

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Direct Gas Utilization

• Gas piped to a nearby customer to offset other
  fuel (natural gas, oil, coal) use
• 100 projects in the US
• Pipeline lengths range from ½ mile to 20 miles
• Gas used at end users site

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Direct Use Boilers and Direct Thermal

• Sizing
• Applicable to wide variety of landfill sizes
• Costs
• 1.50 to 3.50 per MMBtu, depending on
• GCCS in place or not
• Cost of boiler retrofits
• Pipeline length
• 100K - 250K per mile depending upon rights of
  way, terrain, geology, permitting, geography

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Direct Use Innovative Applications- Leachate
Evaporation

• Sizing
• Typically 10,000 to 20,000 gallons per day
• Costs
• Capital Cost - 295,000 (10,000 gpd) to 485,000
  (20,000 gpd)
• Annual OM Cost - 70,000 to 95,000

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Direct Use Innovative Applications- Greenhouses

• Applicable to smaller landfills
• Produce high purity carbon dioxide that is used
  to grow greenhouse plants
• 5 operational greenhouse projects in the U.S.

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Direct Use Innovative Applications - Greenhouses

• Sizing
• Depends on greenhouse size - generally require
  relatively low LFG volume
• Costs
• Limited cost information available one project
  in the U.S. estimated costs to be around 4.80
  per MMBtu

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Electricity Generation

• Most prevalent type of project in the US
• In US, 1000 MW of capacity from over 200
  operational projects
• Electricity sold to utility, cooperative or
  nearby customer
• Average project size 4 MW (500 kW - 50 MW)

50 MW Steam Turbine, Puente Hills LF, CA
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Internal Combustion Engine

• Sizing
• 1-3 MWs
• Costs
• 1,100-1,300 (/kW)
• Major suppliers
• Cat, GE-Jenbacher, Waukesha, Deutz

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Turbines Gas, Steam, and Combined Cycle

• Sizing
• 1-10MWs
• Costs
• 1,200-1,700 (/kW)
• Major suppliers Cat-Solar, Fairbanks-Morse

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Microturbines

• Sizing
• 30-200 kW
• Costs
• 1,200-2,000 (/kW)

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Emerging Technologies

• Stirling External Combustion Engine (Continued)
• Sizing
• 25 - 55 kW
• Costs
• OM approximately 0.8cents/kW
• Capital Cost - limited information, demonstration
  project in Michigan should provide more detailed
  costs

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Combined Heat and Power Industrial

• Industrial
• Generally applicable to mid to larger size
  landfills
• Costs
• Available information indicate overall costs in
  the 1200-2000 per kWh range.
• Microturbines
• Generally applicable to small to mid size
  landfills
• Costs
• Available information indicate overall installed
  costs in the 1800-3000 per kWh range.

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Alternate Fuels High-Btu Upgrades

• Technology
• Gas is purified from 50 to 99 methane
• Removal of carbon dioxide is primary step
• Advantages
• Inject treated product into pipeline
• Reduction in use of fossil fuels
• Reduce local ozone pollution
• Disadvantages
• Must meet strict standards of pipeline
• Costly technology
• Limited track record of performance

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Alternate Fuels High-Btu Upgrades

• Sizing
• Economical for large scale only
• Costs
• Capital Costs for 57 cubic meters/min. system
  range from 3 million to 4 million
• OM costs range from 0.82 to 1.12 per MMBtu

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Alternate Fuels - Vehicle Fuel

• Compressed landfill gas (CNG)
• Liquefied landfill gas (LNG) - Prometheus
• Early stages of commercial development

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Alternate Fuels- Vehicle Fuel

• Advantages
• LNG/CNG price lower than diesel fuel cost
• Reduction in use of fossil fuels
• Reduce local ozone pollution
• Disadvantages
• Very small percentage of alternative-fuel
  vehicles
• Vehicle conversion costs
• Limited track record of performance
• Costs
• Retrofit vehicles 3,500 to 4,000 per vehicle
• Fueling station 1,000,000
• Fuel price 0.48 to 1.26 per gallon

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Summary

• Key Selection considerations include
• Environmental performance
• Reliability
• Accuracy of assumptions
• Permitting issues emissions
• Cost

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Summary, continued

• Many ways to beneficially utilize LFG
• Available niche technologies range from research
  and development stage units to commercially
  available systems
• Technologies exist for low and high volumes of
  LFG production
• Selection of technology is project specific