As part of our move to sustainable energy practices, the University is partnering with Orange County on a project to turn the landfill gas from the Orange County Landfill on Eubanks Road into energy. On Monday, October 13, from 7 - 8:30 p.m. Orange County will host an information meeting on the project at the Seymour Center at 2551 Homestead Road in Chapel Hill.
Landfills like the one on Eubanks Road produce landfill gas, created as the waste stored there decomposes. The landfill gas then escapes into the atmosphere and is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. This project would collect the gas and transport it to University property where it would be converted to electricity. This electricity would be used for power at the Giles Horney complex on Martin Luther King Boulevard and later for buildings at Carolina North.
This is an exciting project for the community. It is a great example of recycling a by-product of the landfill. Turning the landfill gas into electricity would move the University forward in its effort to become carbon neutral.
Issues:
Comments
Information Meeting
The meeting is Monday, October 13 at 7 at the Seymour Center. I hope folks interested in innovative energy projects will attend. We'll review the background of the project, how it will work, what the equipment and buildings will look like, the environmental impact and the steps necessary for approval.
Linda
Glad You Are Doing This!
LInda, thanks for letting
LInda, thanks for letting us know. This is a great example of the University working locally, thinking globally. Thanks!
Gas Projections
I'm curious as to how much energy is expected from this project, based on similar landfills elsewhere, the size of ours, etc.
Bottom line: how much energy (in KW) is expected from this project, and what then are the costs per KW?
While I think such projects are really good, I suspect that the actually amount of energy is going to be comparatively low, and people should not get the idea that such approaches are a solution, but only a way to make some good out of wasteful practices. It would be better to require that all food waste be separated out, potentially collected by the Town, etc., and composted, for example.