Philadelphia Turns Landfill Gas into Renewable Power for City Waste Management
The city of Philadelphia’s sanitary services group will use captured and refined landfill gas to power its compressed natural gas (CNG) trash compactors.
UGI Energy Services is partnering with the city of Philadelphia to source biogas from Pennsylvania and regional landfills. Use of the biofuels will reduce landfill flaring of methane gas—considered more damaging environmentally than carbon dioxide—and expand markets for renewable natural gas (RNG) to replace natural gas.
“We source biogas from a portfolio of landfill projects to ensure security of supply for our customers and prioritize production from Pennsylvania landfills for delivery to customers located throughout the Commonwealth,” said Joe Hartz, President, UGI Energy Services.
The renewable fuel will power 35 CNG-fueled trash compactors, currently serving neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. The project will create new demand for methane produced by waste decomposition in landfills, reducing the amount of gas flared at participating facilities and allowing for renewable natural gas to be injected into the gas distribution system.
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“The city’s partnership with UGI Energy Services is an important step towards advancing our vision of a cleaner municipal fleet,” said Liz Lankenau, Director of the city of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability. “Through our partnership, UGI Energy Services will prioritize capturing and reusing gas from local landfills to power our trash compactors, which supports the local market for fossil fuel alternatives like renewable natural gas.”
The production of RNG recovers methane and requires the removal of impurities from the biogas mixture, such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, oxygen, nitrogen, and other gases, to meet strict pipeline and utility quality standards.
The production of RNG has two major environmental benefits. Aside from preventing the release of methane as a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, which would otherwise be wasted, it also offsets the use and production of natural gas by replacing it with this renewable fuel.