Have you ever driven past the Upstate Niagra cheese plant on I-86 by the Campbell exit and seen the “torch” burning in the back? This is done to process gasses produced when the waste products of the plant are ‘digested’ and made safe to discharge. Large landfills that have been capped also produce large quantities of methane gas (among others) that are most often vented off to the atmosphere–contributing to the climate change carbon load. But there are technologies to use or sell these resources!
One such method has been created by Waga Energy, a French company specializing in biomethane recovery systems. With a solid track record in Europe creating biomethane with their Wagabox™ renewable natural gas (RNG) device, almost endless energy resources are being captured for transportation, heating, and industry. Their planning extends to North America–and Waga has opened offices in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania and Quebec, Canada–they are now ready to expand.
And guess what gentle readers? Steuben County has a landfill that is quite suitable to their needs! In late December of last year, Waga signed a 20-year service contract with Steuben County–whereby we will become the first new plant in North America.
Waga Energy CEO Mathieu Lefebvre stated recently in a press release, “We are honored to have been selected by Steuben County to upgrade the methane from its Bath landfill. This first contract in the United States marks a major milestone to introduce our WAGABOX(R) solution to the US market. We are eager for landfill operators in the United States to see how efficient our technology is, and how our hassle-free operating model can help small and medium-sized landfills generate additional revenues while taking concrete action against climate change.”
Hear what county administrator Jack Wheeler has to say about it on WVIN’s Community Focus podcast:
According to public filings, the new facility will open sometime in March of 2023. Once operational, the plant will produce 1000 cubic feet of RNG per minute. This new RNG stock will be fed into our existing natural gas pipelines–and a portion used by Steuben county-owned vehicles and equipment that is equipped for operating on natural gas. These combined uses will provide the needs of roughly 4000 local homes–as well as county-operated transportation interests. There is no word yet on how many local jobs this will create, but the company has stated that the majority of the components required will be manufactured here in the United States.
For more details, click on the links below.
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