Community Renewable Energy

Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project

Antioch, Illinois

Location: Antioch, Illinois
Owner: Antioch Community School District
Capacity of Electricity Generation System: 360kW
Online: September 2003
Developer: RMT Inc.
Cost: $1.9 million

In September of 2003, Antioch Community High School (ACHS) became the first school in the U.S. to use landfill gas for heat and electrical production.

HOD Landfill, which is half a mile from ACHS, was active as a municipal and industrial solid waste disposal facility from 1963 to 1984. In August 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency approved the final remedial design for the site, which included a landfill gas (LFG) and leachate management system with the final cover. Initial operation of the management system indicated that LFG was produced at a rate of approximately 300 ft3 per minute.

In 2001, RMT Inc., an environmental engineering, consulting, and construction management firm, contacted ACHS to inquire about its interest in using LFG as an energy source. In April 2002, the Antioch Community School District applied for and received a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs' (DECCA) Renewable Energy Resources Program (RERP) to construct a cogeneration system to use the LFG to produce electricity and heat at the high school.

RMT staff worked with the local government, school officials, and EPA, in addition to leading the design efforts and managing the construction activities throughout the project. RMT also provided public relations assistance to ACHS by attending Antioch Village Board meetings to describe the project, to answer any questions from concerned citizens and Village Board members, and to resolve any conflicts that arose during the project.

The system size is 360kW and consists of 12 Capstone MicroTurbines, that are powered by LFG, which is cleaned, compressed, and transferred from the HOD Landfill in a half-mile pipe. The energy recovered from the microturbines is used to heat and power the 262,000 ft2 school building. Together, the electricity generated and heat recovered meet the majority of the building’s energy requirements. Any additional electricity not used at the High School is sold to the utility.

The overall cost of the project is estimated at $1.9 million, of which $550,000 was covered by the grant ACHS received from RERP in April 2002. The school district is funding the remainder by issuing revenue bonds. The final payback for this project, based on conservative assumptions for future energy costs, is approximately eight years.

This project serves as a model of how a landfill with relatively small quantities of LFG can be used to produce clean energy. Additional benefits of the system include lower energy costs for the high school; complete combustion of waste gas; decreased emissions to the environment; and educational opportunities as a result of the on-campus, state-of-the art gas-to-energy system.

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