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Quebec firm wants to turn old landfill into new energy. By Stephen Bornais The Daily News - Tues December 18,2001 That turkey carcass you tossed in the trash in 1983 could soon make its way back into your home. Halifax Regional Municipality has entered negotiations with Highland Energy Inc. of Kirkland, Que., with the goal of using methane gas produced by rotting garbage at the old Sackville landfill to make electricity. McLennan said the Sackville landfill, with 4.4 million tonnes of garbage, produces gas that's about 50% methane. Assessments done on site in the mid-1990s noted gas bubbling through pools of surface water. The landfill also produces plenty of leachate, a witch's brew of heavy metals and other contaminates that must be treated before it's released into nearby water courses. For McLennan, the leachate is a big problem. "The whole site is saturated, and that inhibits the collection of any gas," he said. McLennan said he would propose a landfill gas operation to one he set up in 1998 in Kirkland, a small city on the island of Montreal. Running at peak design capacity, the Kirkland landfill energy project produces 1.6 megawatts of electricity from two engine generators fuelled solely by landfill gas. That's enough to power 1,000 homes. A series of pipes collects the gas and delivers it for burning in generators. Highland Energy built and maintains the collection and production systems. It sells the electricity to Hydro0Quebec. McLennan said the same arrangement could be offered to Halifax. Contract negotiations could include royalty payments to the city from the sale of electricity. Nova Scotia Power Inc. has identified landfill gas as a possible every source as part of its Green Power initiative.
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