Dane County, Wisconsin, celebrates the opening of RNG project
PHOTO: Dane County, Wisconsin
May 2, 2019
BY Erin Voegele
Dane County, Wisconsin, celebrated the opening of its biogas upgrading project on April 25 with a ribbon cutting. The county’s project converts trash and cow manure into renewable natural gas (RNG) that is injected into the natural gas pipeline for use as transportation fuel.
“It’s exciting to have this first-of-its-kind project reach the finish line so our area can begin to reap the financial and environmental benefits of the renewable fuel our landfill now generates,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi in a statement. “A huge thank you goes out to our partners and dedicated staff who made this possible. Dane County’s landfill biogas facility and offloading station will advance our clean lakes and air efforts and also benefit Dane County taxpayers.”
Madison, Wisconsin-based BIOFerm Energy Systems designed, engineered, commissioned, and provided technology for the biogas upgrading facility, which is located at Dane County’s landfill.
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“This project was made possible by the hardworking team at BIOFerm, the hundreds of contractors on site, and of course the dedicated Dane County Team, led by John Welch,” said Nadeem Afghan, president and CEO of BIOFerm. “Outside of the environmental attributes, one of many economic benefits of this project is it brought over 500 jobs to the area, and this trend will continue in years to come with the county’s forward-thinking climate change agenda.”
According to information released by Dane County, the biogas project has a biogas offloading station that allows other biogas producers to inject their gas into the pipeline. Before being hauled to the landfill for injection into the pipeline, biogas needs to be purified and compressed by the owner’s equipment.
Kwik Trip will be one of the primary dispensers of RNG generated by the county’s facility. “Sustainability innovation has long been a part of the culture at Kwik Trip. For that reason, we are fortunate to partner with Dane County’s landfill biogas facility,” said John McHugh, director of public relations at Kwik Trip.
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In its first year of operation, the biogas facility is expected to displace 3 million gallons of fossil fuels, increasing to 4 million gallons per year in the future. Information released by Dane County also estimates the project will generate enough revenue to payback its $28 million cost in just a few years.
Additional information is available on the Dane County website.
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