OGDEN, Utah, Sept. 15, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Weber County joined the methane-harvesting business Thursday, announcing a pilot project to convert leaking landfill methane gas into electricity.
In a low-key ceremony, officials including Weber County commissioners and a representative from Rep. Blake Moore’s office unveiled the generator located at the closed county landfill just outside Fort Buenaventura Park in west Ogden.
The unit is the first system in Utah that will convert landfill gas emissions into electricity and heat, Weber County Economic Development Director Stephanie Russell said.
The generator for the six- to eight-month pilot project was built by Qnergy, an Ogden methane conversion firm. The company has sold thousands of the affordable units internationally, Russell said, typically to livestock operations with methane issues such as cattle ranches.
Qnergy’s unit, model name “PowerGen,” she said, “will utilize landfill gas to bring electricity to Fort Buenaventura Park while eliminating potent and harmful methane emissions.”
Of the more than 55 landfills in Utah, Weber County has two that are closed but still emitting methane, Russell said.
“The county is thrilled to work with Ogden-based Qnergy on this project. Our goal is to expand these efforts to the other landfills in the county and throughout the state,” she said.
