Just one step away from a more green operation.
The Regional District has received elector approval to enter into a 20-year agreement to have FortisBC purchase raw landfill gas from the Foothills Boulevard Regional Landfill to purify and inject it into the natural gas distribution system as Renewable Natural Gas (RNG).
As part of the agreement, FortisBC will finance, construct and operate the plant required to process the raw landfill gas for injection into their system. The Regional District will continue its role in being responsible for upgrades and maintenance to the landfill gas collection system to ensure it will meet its obligations for quantity and quality of gas to be supplied through the agreement. The Regional District is slated to receive between $75,000-$145,000 annually from FortisBC for the supply of landfill gas.
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George announced back in April the approval in principle of the agreement.
Art Kaehn, Chair for the Regional District, told MyPGNow then that this agreement has been 25 years in the coming.
“When the regional district acquired the landfill in 1994, the management of the site has been in the hands of the district. Since that time, the district has been looking at ways to use that landfill gas in a beneficial way,” said Kaehn.
Kaehn describes the project as a ‘break-even proposition’, stating the funds will be used to maintain and expand the landfill gas collection system.
“The greatest benefits to the residents will be that there will be enough natural gas to heat up 1,100 homes, or it will be the equivalent of taking 1,200 cars off of the road.”
Douglas Stout, vice-president of external relations and market development for FortisBC, said the demand for RNG is significant.
“We welcome the opportunity to bring on new supply as we pursue our target of having 15 per cent of our gas supply be renewable by 2030,” said Stout. “If approved, this project will be the first northern Renewable Natural Gas project for FortisBC and will support the development of a locally produced, carbon-neutral energy source in BC.”
When bacteria breaks down organic waste from sources such as landfill sites, agricultural waste, and wastewater treatment facilities, biogas is produced, which is mostly made of methane. FortisBC works with local farmers and municipalities to capture and purify this biogas, which would otherwise escape into the atmosphere, to create RNG.
The final step in the approval process will be to get the nod by the British Columbia Utilities Commission.
If approved by the BCUC, the Regional District will continue to be responsible for the ownership and operation of the landfill and landfill gas collection system.
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