State and local officials will dedicate a methane-mining project at the Butler County Landfill near David City on Friday.
ALGIS J. LAUKAITIS / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, November 17, 2008 6:00 pm
State and local officials will dedicate a methane-mining project at the Butler County Landfill near David City on Friday.
The project, built by Timberline Energy of Denver, collects methane gas — produced from decomposing garbage — and sends it through a buried pipeline to Henningsen Foods, an egg-processing plant in David City.
The company burns the gas in its dryers and a large boiler.
“We can use more gas than they are producing,” said Darrel Kahler, assistant manager for Henningsen, a subsidiary of Q.P. Corp., of Tokyo.
Methane is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Landfills account for 25 percent of all methane releases linked to human activity.
“Given that all landfills generate gas, it makes sense to use this gas for the beneficial purpose of energy generation rather than emitting it into the atmosphere,” said Jay Hopper with Timberline Energy.
Here’s how the project works:
Timberline sunk 16 wells, 30 feet to 90 feet deep, into the oldest part of the landfill. The methane is collected, compressed and sent via pipeline to Henningsen Foods.
Henningsen Foods buys eggs from producers and processes them into products for domestic and export markets. The company employs more than 130 people.
“We are growing green, adding green and living green in Butler County,” said Willow Holoubek, executive director of Butler County Development.
Four partners — Henningsen Foods, Timberline Energy, Butler County Landfill and its parent company Waste Connection, and the city of David City — came together to make the project a win-win situation for the community, said Holoubek.
The operation not only helps the environment but also supports area agriculture — from farmers who grow the soybeans and corn for chicken feed to the producers who operate the egg-laying farms.
Kelly Danielson, assistant district manager of the 64-acre landfill, said the project operates about 10 to 12 hours a day. The landfill gets a small royalty from the operation, he said, but the main benefit is it doesn’t have to build a collection system to get rid of the landfill gas.
Danielson said the methane-mining operation could be used to provide fuel for other entities in the David City area as more wells are added to the landfill.
Hopper estimates the project could be in operation for 40 years.
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at (402) 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.