Ameresco Inc., a clean-tech integrator specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, has begun commercial operations at its landfill-gas-to-renewable-natural-gas plant at Republic Services’ Brickyard Landfill in Danville, Illinois.
The Brickyard facility has a gross nameplate of over 500,000 dekatherms per year, with the potential to displace the production of traditional fuel sources and can process 2,000 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) of raw landfill gas. This renewable energy project serves as a model for innovation in landfill management and paves the way for a more sustainable future.
The Brickyard RNG facility captures naturally occurring landfill gas and transforms it into pipeline-grade RNG, a low-carbon transportation fuel. The RNG this facility is expected to produce would reduce over 27,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually if used to displace diesel vehicle fuel, which is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by planting nearly 326,000 acres of forests. This translates to cleaner air, improved public health and a positive impact against climate change.
By capturing and using landfill gas, the Brickyard facility generates renewable energy that displaces fossil fuels used in gas-powered vehicles. This not only reduces the country’s reliance on finite resources such as oil and gas, but also contributes to the circular economy by extracting value from waste and transforming it into a clean energy source.
“At Republic Services, we’re committed to supporting decarbonization, and our partnership with Ameresco has helped us accelerate progress toward our 2030 sustainability goals,” says Tim Oudman, Republic Services senior vice president, Sustainability Innovation. “Through the Brickyard RNG facility, we’re able to transform naturally occurring biogas into renewable energy for the local community.”
The project directly contributes to Republic Services’ long-term sustainability goal to beneficially reuse 50% more biogas by 2030. This is Ameresco’s 12th renewable energy project with Republic, with another 10 projects in various stages of development, permitting or construction.
“Creating clean energy, reducing harmful emissions and making a tangible impact on the environment toward a carbon-neutral future depends on collaboration,” says Michael Bakas, executive vice president of Ameresco. “Through our long-term partnership with Republic Services, we were able to create a dispatchable baseload resource at the Brickyard Landfill. This will turn waste into a reliable source of renewable energy and provide tremendous resiliency to enhance our nation’s security of supply for the years to come.”
