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    OPAL Fuels Building Waste Gas-to-RNG Plant at Landfill in California

    Nov. 8, 2024
    The project will capture naturally produced biogas, such as methane, from the decomposition of organic material from the Kirby Canyon Landfill and convert it into RNG. Approximately 5.1 million gas gallons equivalent of RNG can be produced annually.
    Image credit Opal Fuels Inc.
    672e81a2c04ad74bd73a4ab0 Opal Fuels

    OPAL Fuels has begun construction on a conversion facility which will turn landfill gas into renewable natural gas (RNG) at the Kirby Canyon Landfill in Santa Clara County, California.

    The OPAL Fuels-owned facility will have an initial annual design capacity of approximately 0.66 million MMBtus (million British thermal units of energy). RNG replaces leaking methane and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, proponents say.

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    The project will capture naturally produced biogas, such as methane, from the decomposition of organic material from the Kirby Canyon Landfill and convert it into RNG. Approximately 5.1 million gas gallons equivalent of RNG can be produced annually based on the design capacity of the plant, according to the company.

    OPAL Fuels will distribute the RNG through its fueling station network to heavy-duty trucks functioning on natural gas to help lower emissions and reduce fuel costs for these fleets.

    Methane leaking from landfills is a major emitter of GHG emissions. Environmental scientists warn that pure methane is multiple times more damaging as an air pollutant than carbon dioxide.

    Many new projects are tapping into the perceived benefits of RNG development. Chesapeake Utilities have completed their $22 million RNG plant, converting dairy farm waste, and put it into operation recently.

    TotalEnergies is partnering with Vanguard Renewables to build another dairy farm waste-to-RNG plant in Virginia. Fuel generated at that plant will be contracted to supply power for an AstraZeneca bio-pharmaceutical plant in Maryland.

     

    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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