LFG provided by DTE Energy powers the biodiesel plant that converts renewable feedstock, vegetable oils, and animal fats to biodiesel. The City then uses the biodiesel to fuel its fleet of garbage trucks and other utility vehicles.

The Denton Landfill, which was highlighted at the EPA LMOP Project Expo in 2003, will also house a larger LFGE project expected to be operational in 2006.

The EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) is a voluntary assistance and partnership program that promotes the use of landfill gas as a renewable, green energy source. Landfill gas is the natural by-product of the decomposition of solid waste in landfills and is comprised primarily of carbon dioxide and methane.

Other LMOP awards presented by the EPA were:

• Project of the Year (Direct Use): Lanchester Landfill Gas Utilization Project. The project includes a 13-mile pipeline to transport 4,000 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) of LFG from to multiple end-users.

• Project of the Year (Electricity Generation): Santee Cooper’s Green Power Generating Station. The $7 million facility consists of three 1.8 megawatt (MW) GE Jenbacher engines and is the second renewable energy project for Santee Cooper, which offers the green power to its customers, including 15 of the state’s electric cooperatives. Since 2001, Santee Cooper has sold more than 10,000 kilowatt-hours of LFGE electricity.

• Industry Partner of the Year: Granger Energy. Granger was the first to develop an LFGE project in Michigan back in 1985. Granger owns and operates both landfills and LFGE projects, with 13 projects developed or in development in six states.

• Energy Partner of the Year (End User): Interface Flooring Systems. Interface Flooring Systems reached out to the City of LaGrange, Georgia, in 2000 to build a 10-mile pipeline to bring the LFG from the city’s landfill to the Interface carpet production facility. This pipeline became operational in October 2005, reducing Interface’s natural gas demand at the facility by 20%. Additionally by securing the GHG reduction credits generated by the landfill’s flare, the project helped Interface offset all its GHG emissions for its North American manufacturing facilities.

• Energy Partner of the Year (Provider): Wabash Valley Power Association. Wabash Valley is a generation and transmission cooperative based in Indiana, providing wholesale power to 27 distribution systems in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. In 2005, Wabash Valley Power constructed two new LFGE facilities (Jay County, Indiana and Liberty, Indiana) and acquired three other existing Indiana facilities for a total of 22 MW of LFG-fueled generation in its power portfolio.

• State Partner of the Year: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. PA DEP joined LMOP in 2003 and has launched a number of initiatives to encourage and foster the use of LFG.

• Community Partner of the Year: Fairfax, County, Virginia. The county owns and operates the I-95 Landfill, which has a 6.4 MW electricity project, as well as a direct use project of approximately 1,000 scfm of LFG at its wastewater treatment plant. Although most of the LFG collected was being utilized, the County decided to replace their existing propane-fired heating system onsite in the maintenance shop with LFG-fired infrared tube heaters to further maximize LFG utilization.