Christchurch, New Zealand uses methane extracted from a landfill to fuel Council buildings as Recreation Sport Centre and Art Gallery. Christchurch is member of Energy Cities since 2006.
Methane: the word conjures up stories of canaries in coal mines and actors edging through stygian darkness. A gas that movie makers have used to great dramatic effect.
At Burwood landfill methane was a problem. As organic material rots in an oxygen-free environment, land-fill gas, including methane (approx. 55 per cent), is produced. The normal solution to destroy the gas is to collect and burn it off in a flare.
However it was realised that landfill gas could be used in sustainable projects to generate heat and electricity. Gas from Burwood landfill is now piped 3.7 kilometres underground to the QE II swimming pool and sports complex after a simple drying process that takes place at the landfill site.
At QE II, the landfill gas is fed into two boilers and a co-generation plant which produces both electricity and heat.
Previously the boilers were fired using LPG and there is still an LPG tank on site for use when the pipeline or the plant at the landfill undergo maintenance.
Although the landfill gas is a free source of renewable energy the Council still had to ensure that capital investment in the project would be worthwhile. The calculations and measurements showed that savings would result in a payback for the project in about four years.
As part of the calculations was the concept that Council could sell the carbon credits generated from destroying a greenhouse gas, methane. Council received the credits from the government’s Projects to Reduce Emissions Programme. The revenue from the sale of these credits ($3.5 million) will be used to fund the Sustainable Energy Strategy for Christchurch 2008–2018.
Methane has a global warming potential of 22, meaning that every kilogram of methane emitted to the atmosphere has the equivalent forcing effect on the Earth’s climate of 22 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
The benefits of the project
The benefits of the project include:
Sustainable reductions in electricity and LP gas use at QE 11;
Carbon dioxide savings in excess of 40,000 tonnes a year;
Christchurch City Council, member of Energy Cities since 2006, is also involved in the Covenant of Mayors to curb the CO2 emissions of the territory by at least 20% by 2020 via energy efficiency and renewable energy actions.
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