What’s New
The CRD (Capital Regional District) has hired Waga Energy to build and run a new facility at Hartland Landfill that will turn landfill biogas into Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). The gas-to-electricity plant was shut down in December 2023. Waga Energy will manage the facility for 25 years.
The technology, called WAGABOX®, has worked at 13 other landfills in the last five years, with 12 more in progress in Europe and North America. FortisBC will buy the RNG at a fixed price and cover the costs to add it to their gas system. The new facility will pay for itself through the sale of biogas.
Project Overview
In December 2019, the CRD decided to upgrade landfill gas from Hartland Landfill into RNG and sell it to FortisBC. RNG is a clean energy made from gas created by decomposing organic waste at the landfill.
FortisBC will add the RNG to the local gas system. RNG lowers the need for traditional natural gas and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The project is expected to cut 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over 25 years, equal to taking 3,900 cars off the road or heating 3,000 homes with a heat pump instead of oil. For more information on RNG, please visit www.fortisbc.com/rng.
Project Background
Since 2004, Hartland Landfill has used landfill gas to generate electricity for about 1,600 homes. Now, the system is too small, and the equipment is aging.
Two options were considered:
- Expand the electricity generation system to sell more electricity to BC Hydro.
2. Build a facility to turn the biogas into renewable natural gas (RNG).
A study done by GHD found that closing the old plant and building the new RNG facility is the best way to reduce GHG emissions without expanding the landfill’s footprint.
RNG can replace fossil fuels in areas where switching to electricity isn’t possible. The CRD’s Climate Action Strategy includes RNG to meet its GHG goals. The CRD is also working to capture more biogas from the landfill, which could reduce GHG emissions by 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over 25 years, a 73% improvement from earlier estimates.