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Methane is generated within 6 to eighteen months after solid waste is put in a landfill. Peak production starts roughly a year after deposit in most established landfills, but serious volumes of the gas can be generated for 20 or more years after that when a landfill gas to energy scheme is installed, depending on the individual landfill traits. Generating energy from landfill gas in such landfill gas to energy projects doesn’t only mean decreasing its jeopardy towards our climate ; it also serves then as a substitute for fossil fuels, for example natural gas.

Such a waste-to-energy ( landfill gas to energy ) project is a demonstration of how we, as a society, can transform long-held climate changing practices into more environmentally sustainable actions. In the US and many other states this is exactly what’s been done. For example, there are way more than 400 landfill gas to energy power projects today in the united states already. The reason being because even lining and capping will not stop a large amount of the gas escaping.

Methane is around 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas and allowing methane escape to the atmosphere would have significant global warming implications.

Methane also has a short, ten year, atmospheric life. Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas and for that reason is a key contributor to world climate change.

In several less developed nations methane emissions from landfills represent a lost opportunity to capture and use a important energy resource. This is also significant for landfill gas to energy projects as when released into the air, it’s not only a greenhouse gas it also contributes to local air pollution.

Many countries have their own schemes to inspire renewable energy production life landfill gas to energy projects. These Green Certificates ( sometimes called green tags or replaceable energy certificates, and in the United Kingdom’ROCS’ ) act like a claim check on each megawatt hour of replaceable electricity delivered to the grid, and they apply to landfill gas to energy schemes. Such green power when acquired by the electricity user supports renewable energy development.

This is in addition to the more traditional categories of power plants.

For that reason, energy recovery from methane, where economically reasonable, is of considerable benefit to the environment.

For an example of the benefits of landfill gas to energy, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s dump Methane Outreach Program has reportedly aided in developing over 325 landfill gas to energy projects in the past 12 years. These have reduced methane emissions by about ninety million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Across the nation there are reports that there were more than 400 landfill gas to energy projects in operation in 2006 alone, these projects provided over ten bill kilo watt hours of electricity and seventy five bln cubic feet of landfill gas to corporate and state end users.

The equivalent to a complete Part 2 to this article is waiting for you at landfill gas to energy for fun explained. Go take a look now!

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