Doyon opens landfill gas-to-energy plant

In Alaska, Doyon Utilities officially opened its biogas plant on 2 August.

The new plant will convert landfill gas from the Anchorage Regional Landfill into renewable energy that will be used by Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. JBE-Richardson is a joint US army and air force base and will use the power to feed around half of its 13MW demand.

The plant's capacity will increase as the size of the landfill grows. It has the capacity to hold 40 million cubic yards of waste and today this is around one third full. The landfill is expected to reach full capacity in 2045.

The facility has been installed with GE's ecomagination-qualified Jenbacher gas engines. 'Beginning 2013, federal agencies will be required to use renewable energy sources to provide at least 7.5% of total electric consumption. GE's technology allows us to turn landfill gas into an energy source for the US military base and also into a revenue stream for the municipal utility, which currently flares the gas instead of selling it,' Dan Gavora, CEO of Doyon Utilities, was reported as saying.

Doyon will own and operate the facility, and has signed a contract to acquire all the gas produced for the next 20 years. This may be extended to 40 years in the future.