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51 min ago 2 min read
French renewable natural gas (RNG) company Waga Energy will develop an RNG production plant at US waste management firm Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS) Eco-Hill landfill in Atkinson, Illinois, capable of producing around 180 GWh of RNG annually.
The plant will use Waga Energy’s Wagabox technology to convert landfill gas into pipeline-quality RNG for injection into the local natural gas distribution network.
Under a long-term deal, Waga Energy will finance, construct, own and operate the RNG production plant with an initial processing capacity of 4,800m³/h.
The company said the plant will avoid the emission of around 47,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent each year.
The Eco-Hill landfill, owned and operated by one of LRS’s affiliated companies, receives one million metric tonnes of municipal solid waste each year, primarily from the greater Chicago area.
Guénaël Prince, CEO and co-founder of Waga Energy, said, “By producing high-quality RNG on site, we will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide the community with a reliable, local and renewable source of energy.”
Waga Energy continued to expand its US footprint following the launch of RNG production plants in and this year.
Wagabox’s technology purifies raw landfill gas through membrane filtration by removing impurities such as water, volatile organic compounds, and hydrogen sulphide, and through cryogenic distillation by cooling gas to extremely low temperatures to separate methane from oxygen, nitrogen, and CO2.
The technology upgrades landfill gas into pipeline-quality RNG through a combination of membrane filtration and cryogenic distillation.
It currently operates 38 RNG production plants in France, Spain, Canada, and the US, representing an installed capacity of more than 7.1 million MMBtu (2.1 TWh) per year.
According to the American Gas Association, Illinois has the potential to produce 182.2 tBtu (53.4 TWh) of RNG per year by 2040.
Data from the US Environmental Protection Agency shows that the number of landfill RNG projects increased by 75.8% between 2018 and 2023, from 58 to 102.
