Anchorage Regional Landfill
Landfill Gas-to-Energy
Project
Renewable Energy Alaska Project Forum
January 11, 2012
Project Organization
Design, build, operates
project facilities
Owns, operates landfill and LFG
Collection system
Own Power Plant and
electrical infrastructure
Owns LFG Processing and
transmission facilities
Power Customer
Grant Contributor
Anchorage Regional Landfill
 300,000 tons
annually
 8 million tons
in-place
 22 million ton
total capacity
 Expected life –
2050
Landfill Gas Generation
Organic Materials
In
Waste Stream
Anaerobic
Decomposition
Moisture
Heat
Landfill Gas
(CH4, CO2
+ trace organics)
Gas Characteristics
 Typically Makeup - 50% Methane, 50% CO2
 Typical energy content – 500 BTU/ft3
 Typical moisture content – saturated
 May contain other constituents
Nitrogen, VOCs, siloxanes, H2S, etc.)
(Oxygen,
LFG Generation
General industry rules of thumb:
 Each million tons of waste in place has
the potential to generate 200-700 cf/min
of LFG.
 Each ton of waste in place has potential
to generate 3,900 – 6,600 cf of LFG over
the life of the landfill.
Expected LFG Generation
3,000
Upper limit of LFG Generation Rate
Current LFG
Production
2,500
Lower limit of LFG Generation Rate
Average LFG Generation Rate
2,000
1,500
2007 ~ 1,000 cfm/
30 MBtu/hr
2045 ~ 2,200 cfm/
66 MBtu/hr
1,000
EPA LMOP Generation Model
2099
2095
2091
2087
2083
2079
2075
2071
2067
2063
2059
2055
2051
2047
2043
2039
Estimated Landfill
Life
2035
2031
2027
2023
2019
2015
2007
2003
1999
1995
1991
0
1987
500
2011
2017 ~ 1,500 cfm/ 45
MBtu/hr
Proposed Project Layout
Existing Gas
Collection
System
Proposed
Power Plant
Gas
Processing
Facility
Existing
Blower/Flare
Site
Processed
Gas Pipeline
Gas Collection System (GCS)
Gas Collection
System
Purpose: Landfill emission
control; collects LFG to central
facility
Ownership: SWS
Operator: SWS
Components: Wells,
piping, blowers, flare
(constructed by SWS in 2006
with future expansions as
needed)
Current System in Place

Constructed 2006 for air
quality compliance.

Blower plant


Enclosed flare


2,400 scfm capacity
2,000 scfm capacity
Gas collection wells and
piping



35 vertical wells
12 horizontal wells
8 leachate system
connections
 Continued expansion as
landfill ages.
Gas Processing System (GPS)
Purpose: Process gas from field
to fuel quality; deliver to Power
Plant
Operation: Gas delivered to GPS.
LFG
CONDENSATE
Gas
Processing
System
Condensate and other undesirable
components removed from LFG
returned to GCS. DU takes
ownership of LFG at Title Point (T).
Delivered to Power Plant by
pipeline.
Project Cost: $3.8 million
Ownership: SWS
Component Financing:
Operator: Doyon Utilities
T
$2 million from AEA Grant, all
other costs paid by DU.
Power Generation
ARL
FENCE LINE
Power
Generation
Purpose: Uses LFG as fuel to
produce electricity. All power
delivered to JBER through Ft. Rich
D Street Substation
Ownership: Doyon Utilities
Operator: Doyon Utilities
JBER
JBER
Distribution
Grid
Components: Generators,
switch gear and related controls.
Power Plant

Jenbacher J420
Generators

1.4 MW per Unit

Initial installation – 4
units

Operates on either LFG
or commercial natural
gas

Change fuel source on
the fly
 Under consideration:
5th generating unit
 Organic Rankine heat
recovery units

Contract Timeline
2011
DEVELOPMENT
2012
COMMISSION
CONTRACT
AWARD
90 DAYS
2013
CONTRACT
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
TESTING
20 YEARS
DEVELOPMENT
COMMISSIONING
Permitting, design, procurement and
construction of GPS and Power Plant
Startup and testing of all
components and systems
No gas sold or delivered.
Gas delivered at no cost.
No minimum gas purchase
requirement.
No minimum gas purchase
requirement.
90 day maximum duration.
Contract Timeline
2011
DEVELOPMENT
CONTRACT
AWARD
2012
COMMISSION
90 DAYS
2013
PERFORMANCE
TESTING
CONTRACT
PERFORMANCE
20 YEARS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
CONTRACT PERFORMANCE
Fine tune operation of GCS, GPS and
power plant for optimization
Full system operation.
All gas sold at contract price.
No min. gas purchase requirement.
Ends latter of 1/1/13, first month
after Commissioning or 24 mos. from
Contract Award
Tier gas pricing in effect.
Take Or Pay minimum gas
purchase requirement.
A Win – Win Project
Municipality

Generates revenue
off a waste product.

Revenues will offset
operating costs
which will reflect in
user tipping fees.
JBER
The project will
produce ~50% of the
JBER power demand
 Dual fuel capability
assures stable power
supply
 Immediate availability
of fuel provides more
reliable power in
emergencies.

Landfill Gas to Energy
Questions?
Contact Mark Madden, P.E.
Director
Municipality of Anchorage
Solid Waste Services
907.343.6279
maddenmg@muni.org