County at work on landfill gas deals: Methane from waste could bring $1M a year

A plan to turn trash into treasure at the Berkeley County landfill has reached another milestone.

Officials are negotiating two contracts that could bring the county $1 million a year or more from the landfill’s methane gas, a byproduct of the decomposition of garbage.

One potential contract is with Santee Cooper, which would burn methane to produce electricity. The state-owned utility already has generators at landfills in four counties. This would be the first in the Lowcountry.

“What Berkeley County is doing is significant,” Santee Cooper Communications Director Mollie Gore said. “This could be a reliable and affordable source of power.”

The other contract would be with Blue Source, an investment company that makes money from methane.

Methane is considered a culprit in global warming, along with carbon dioxide, a byproduct of some industries. When methane is removed from the atmosphere, the so-called carbon credits can be bought and sold. Blue Source works with Goldman Sachs to sell carbon credits to industries looking for ways to offset their carbon emissions.

Both companies submitted bids for the county’s methane, and the agreements could bring in $1 million or more each year, county Water & Sanitation Director Colin Martin told the County Council. The council’s public works committee, which includes all council members, told Martin to negotiate contracts.

“We’re excited about reaching the milestones with these two important strategic partnerships,” County Supervisor Dan Davis said.

More than 50 wells were dug through the trash this summer to release the methane. Now workers are laying pipes to a station that will suck up the gas. The $2.8 million system is expected to be finished by November.

Martin expects the system to pump 750 standard cubic feet a minute, which is the thermal equivalent of 3.1 million gallons of gasoline a year.

“This is a win-win situation for everybody,” he said. “This will help us keep our fees and rates down.”

Charleston County’s Green Committee is studying landfill options and will report to the County Council the first of September.

“We do not currently collect methane for energy creation,” Charleston County Environmental Management Engineer Robert Lawing said. “In the past, we have not had enough methane for it to be economically viable. However, we are exploring opportunities at this time.”

Dorchester County can’t tap into the methane from its landfill because the facility is owned by a private company, County Administrator Jason Ward said.