Saskatoon's Green Energy Park at the landfill site is proposed to include a number of renewable and/or low impact electrical generation facilities, including a Tall Wind Turbine, Landfill Gas Power Generation Facility, Turboexpander Power Generation Facility (in conjunction with SaskEnergy) and potential to add fuel cells, heat recovery and solar power generation in the future. The projects approved or being considered have a combined capacity of 9.6 megawatts. The Energy Park will produce enough power for 6,000 homes, and provide an annual reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 121,000 tonnes (equivalent to removing over 23,000 vehicles from our roadways).

The City of Saskatoon, through its electric utility - Saskatoon Light & Power and the Environmental Services Branch, is developing a Landfill Gas Collection System at the City Landfill Site. Over 500 landfills throughout North America have similar systems installed in order to reduce environmental impacts associated with the operations of landfills.

Landfill gas (LFG) is produced naturally by the decomposition of organic material, such as food and yard waste, in municipal solid waste. LFG contains approximately 50% methane and 50% carbon dioxide. Methane is a greenhouse gas and is over 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfills emit LFG into the atmosphere throughout the operation of the landfill and for many decades after site closure. LFG is one of the highest human-caused sources of methane emissions.

Installing a LFG collection system involves drilling vertical wells into the waste, and connecting the wells to piping that collects LFG using a vacuum induction system. By installing a LFG Collection System, a majority of the LFG can be captured and either flared or used in an energy recovery system to combust the methane and any trace constituents. This system also helps to reduce odours from the landfill and improve local air quality.

Collected LFG will be piped to a Power Generation Facility adjacent to the landfill. The LFG will then be used to fuel internal combustion engines. The engines are coupled to electrical generators to produce power that will be fed to Saskatoon Light & Power's electrical grid.

Example of Landfill Gas Powered Engine-Generator Sets

This project has the potential to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by over 90,000 tonnes per year (equivalent to removing over 16,000 vehicles from our roadways) and provide enough power for up to 2,600 homes.

The capital cost of the project is $10 million and will be operational by 2012. The project is partially funded (50%) by the Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan through the Canada-Saskatchewan Provincial-Territorial Base Funding.

A Public Information Meeting was held on Wednesday, November 24, 2010. Detailed design of the facilities is underway. Construction of the Landfill Gas Collection System will occur in the summer of 2011. The earliest that the power generation facilities could be operational is the summer of 2012.

Brochure designed by the Aden Bowman Collegiate Earthkeepers students for the Landfill Gas Project.