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Methane Initiative Would Turn Charleston 'Green'

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 July 2008, 15:00 CDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The city of Charleston wants go "green" with a new initiative to capture methane gas from the local landfill and turn it into usable energy.

The city is studying the project with former state treasurer Tom Loehr.

Loehr, who now works as a local entrepreneur, plans to raise $3 million in private funds to build a generating plant at the city's landfill.

He plans to start a new business, Charleston Clean Energy LLC, to handle the project.

"This will give Charleston the advantage of being a green city," Loehr said Monday at a city council meeting.

The new plant at the landfill would transform the methane gas into electricity. The energy could then be fed into power lines and sold to interested customers.

The selling price has not been determined yet.

Loehr said the University of Charleston has shown interest in the "green" power.

But no agreements have been made, he said.

Loehr said the landfill's piles of decomposing trash emit 4,000 tons of methane each year.

By turning it into energy, Loehr said the city's air quality would improve.

He compared the project to planting 120,000 acres of forest or taking 15,000 vehicles off the highways.

"This will be the first project of its kind in West Virginia," Loehr said.

Loehr said no public money would be used in the project.

Because they own the landfill, Loehr said the city would receive a percentage of royalties based on the amount of energy sold.

At the meeting, Jones told the council the city doesn't have anything to lose with the project.

"Folks, there's no downside here," Jones said. "If we can do this, we'll be a green city."

Loehr approached the city last winter with the plan, Jones said.

Jones said he's trusts Loehr's instincts.

"I knew that whatever room Tom was in, he was the smartest one in there," Jones said.

But the mayor acknowledged that it would be a challenge to get the project off the ground.

"It's a very difficult project to do," Jones said. "But I think we can do it."

At Monday's meeting, Loehr said the Charleston landfill has a minimum of 30 to 40 years of life left and the methane can be captured as long as trash is stored there.

Loehr said his information for the project all comes from the Environmental Protection Agency's landfill division, which has been helping him.

The issue has been referred to the finance committee for discussion at an Aug. 4 meeting.

If approved, Loehr said it would take one year to get the project up and running.

"It's not a slam dunk project," he said. "It will take time, but we believe it's feasible and the economics are there."

Source: Charleston Daily Mail

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