Greenhouse gas emanating from two Montgomery County landfills may be turned into electricity and eventually even dollars for county coffers, if a local government proposal wins approval from the state and community.
County leaders hope to harness methane and carbon dioxide from the Oaks Landfill in Laytonsville and the Gude Landfill in Rockville and use two large engines to turn the emissions into electricity that can be sold to Pepco. Engineer Steve Lezinski, who works with the County Department of Public Works and Transportation, said it would cost the county $7 million to get the project up and running.
After seven to 10 years of selling the converted gases as electricity, the county could break even, Lezinski said. After that, the county could potentially earn $1 million a year in profit from the project, depending on the amount of gas collected and the going rate for electricity.
“For many years we have been collecting gas and burning it, essentially wasting the potential energy of it,” Lezinski said. “This is an energy resource in this time of crazy oil prices, and we are trying to make beneficial use of this gas and do something green for the county at the same time.”
Bob Ballinger, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment, said Prince George’s County, Baltimore City and Baltimore County are already doing similar programs.
“We encourage this,” Ballinger said. “No. 1, it helps us contain and lower greenhouse gas emissions, and it also recycles the gas into something we need. This is a positive concept.”
Some people who live near the landfills have expressed concerns that it would be too loud, but Lezinski said the project passed a daytime noise test, and a nighttime test was planned for 2:30 a.m. today — if it is too loud, officials will evaluate noise control measures. The county will hold public hearings on the project this week.
Peter Karasik, section chief with the Montgomery Division of Solid Waste Services, said there were also potential operational benefits to the project.
“Right now we have a guard who monitors the landfills for about eight hours a day,” Karasik said. “If this project takes effect, there will be sensors constantly monitoring everything 24 hours a day, and if there are problems the plant would shut down automatically.”
County officials would like to start the construction process by the end of year, but first they need a permit from state authorities.
