Casella Waste to use landfill gas to create electricity

The owner of one of Maine's largest landfills hopes to break ground next month on a first-in-the-state project designed to generate electricity from landfill gas caused by waste decomposition.

Casella Waste Systems Inc. said gas from its Pine Tree Landfill in Hampden could generate enough electricity to light about 3,000 homes.

Because the project uses no fossil fuels and adds no greenhouse gases, the energy would be marketed as "green power," said Dan Dutile, environmental technician for Rutland, Vt.-based Casella.

The company said it operates similar projects in New York and Vermont.

Casella installed a gas-extraction system at the Pine Tree Landfill five years ago to mitigate odor in response to complaints. The system vacuums gas, much of it methane, to flares set up to burn it off.

The gas-to-energy project was originally licensed in 2005, but Casella has since agreed to close the landfill by 2010. The amount of gas generated by the landfill is declining and the "lifespan" of the energy facility is projected at about 15 years, according to Don Meagher, Casella's manager for planning and development.

The facility will be powered by three 20-cylinder internal combustion engines, which will feed the electricity into Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. lines, Meagher said. As gas levels decline, Casella will gradually reduce the number of engines used in the operation.

The engines could be reused at the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town, also operated by Casella. If an expansion application is approved, Juniper Ridge could have five times the capacity of Pine Tree, Meagher said, and a gas-to-energy project there could generate electricity for 45 to 60 years. (AP)