The next phase of methane collection at the city’s Mission Flats landfill will see the gas burned in a stack to reduce its power as a greenhouse gas.
A piping system to collect methane at the landfill was installed last year.
That came in wake of provincial regulations requiring landfills over a certain size to collect and convert captured methane to carbon dioxide.
That will be done by a flare stack scheduled to be commissioned next month, said city environmental services supervisor Glen Farrow.
The stack is near the transfer station at the landfill.
At Cache Creek landfill, a flare stack was recently replaced by reciprocating engines expected to generate 4.8-megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 2,500 homes.
Farrow said the city will collect data on methane capture over the next year to determine whether that is economically feasible in Kamloops. It may also be possible to scrub the gas and feed it to a Fortis Inc. pipeline.
“We need to have better understanding of the quality and quantity,” he said.
The latter option may be less feasible, however, due to the need to extend the line from Domtar Corp.’s Kamloops pulp mill.
No matter the option, the city will have to confirm there is enough methane produced, and for long enough, to ensure gas or energy production is economically viable.
“In the past, we were led to believe it was so minimal it wouldn’t be worth it,” Farrow said, noting the option to scrub gas or create power at Mission Flats will determine how the city deals with organic waste.
In some communities, food scraps are separated and recycled separately.
But, those organics will be a necessary feedstock at the landfill if the city is to create power because they contribute to gas production.
There is no requirement under provincial law to collect methane at the Barnhartvale landfill or the former McGill Road landfill.
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