Britannia Landfill Gas to Electricity Project

operational

Opportunity After 22 years of operations, Britannia Landfill closed in 2002 after having received more than 10 million tonnes of waste. Rehabilitation of the site began in 1999 when the Region opened a golf course on the former landfill, but it continued to release greenhouse gases—including methane and carbon dioxide— as waste slowly decomposed. The Regional Municipality of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon) decided to seek a specialized partner to exploit the gas, generating electricity while also reducing emissions. Challenges IGRS had to find a purchaser with a constant demand for electricity that was willing to commit to a long-term fixed price and pay a premium for green power. Situating a plant in an urban setting was a delicate process and involved a learning curve with the local utility. Innovations IGSR took responsibility for the landfill gas collection system expansion, compression and treatment, and the power generation facility. The Region of Peel backstops the power price under a long-term contract. This creates a risk/reward relationship where IGRS assumed the risk for the capital costs, the operating costs and the equipment downtime in exchange for the electricity sales revenue. The Region of Peel assumed the market risk for green power, while reaping the benefits of potential electricity savings and the expanded landfill gas collection system and its environmental rewards, including odour control. The project generates electricity where there was previously no capacity. The expanded landfill collection system pays for capital and operating costs, while the Region’s long-term commitment to power sales helped IGRS obtain financing. Results Twenty-five wells collect approximately 2,500 cubic feet of gas per minute and 8,000 metres of pipeline deliver it to the electricity generation facility which was built and located off-site. The plant consists of gas processing equipment and three reciprocating engines with a total generating capacity of approximately 5 megawatts of power. The facility destroys 250,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually that would otherwise vent into the environment. Converting landfill gas into energy is particularly important as it reduces venting of methane—a greenhouse gas with 21 times the impact of carbon dioxide— into the atmosphere. Locating the power plant in a heavily urbanized area brings intrinsic benefits to the community. Localized power distribution is more efficient with less power lost in transmission. Having multiple power sources also provides a higher degree of reliability so customers are less likely to suffer power failures.

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