Waste Connections, Inc., contracted with Timberline Energy to produce a renewable fuel from landfill gas generated at its Oklahoma City Landfill which is located off Council Road and I-40. This landfill is used by several local municipalities including Warr Acres. The fuel is then delivered to the adjacent PowerSmith Cogeneration Project or Southern Star Gas Pipeline. Waste Connections is proud to offer a unique and beneficial energy product to customers that reduces dependence on foreign fossil fuels. The project also underscores Waste Connections, Timberline’s, and PowerSmith’s commitment to the environment and their drive to invest in renewable forms of energy.

Landfill gas is a naturally occurring byproduct of the waste decomposition process. Methane - the main component of landfill gas and a potent greenhouse gas has the potential to be captured, processed and returned to the customers as a viable source of renewable energy. Waste Connections in conjunction with Timberline Energy and Weaver Boos Consultants (an environmental design and engineering firm) is helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the local community’s dependence on petroleum fuels by turning its landfill gas into useable renewable energy.

It is estimated that at the current maximum design capacity of the treatment facility, the methane gas captured from the Oklahoma City Landfill will provide the equivalent energy needed to heat over 6,500 homes annually (a community roughly the size of the City of Newcastle) or is equivalent to reducing the carbon dioxide emissions from approximately 500,000 barrels of oil a year.

The landfill gas is treated at the Landfill and then delivered to the adjacent PowerSmith Project where it is burned to produce up to 5MW of electricity, which will power up to 6,000 homes annually. The PowerSmith Project is a 120MW natural gas fired cogeneration facility that has sold electricity and steam to the local community since 1989. Burning the treated landfill gas reduces PowerSmith’s overall emission levels. When not being burned for electric generation, the gas can be delivered to Southern Star Gas Pipeline for use by other customers.

"This project is an effective way to reduce the landfill’s carbon footprint. It also shows our commitment to improve the environment by converting discarded materials in the community into a beneficial product”, states Mark Adams, Engineering Manager –Waste Connections.