Mas Energy to build $25M power plant at Wisconsin landfill

Outagamie County, Wisconsin, has announced it will have a renewable natural gas facility at its Little Chute landfill in 2022, replacing the current decommissioned combined heat and power plant.

As reported by the Appleton Post Crescent, Atlanta-based Mas Energy and the county agreed to construct a renewable natural gas plant the property at 1919 Holland Rd. The plant will take methane collected from the landfill and convert it into compressed natural gas, which will be fed into a pipeline and distributed to various markets, Recycling and Solid Waste Director Brian Van Straten said.

Mas Energy will pay for the plant's $25 million construction costs and manage the new facility.

"This is a positive development," Van Straten said. "It continues to enhance our overall mission to provide communities with exceptional materials management and environmentally sound operational practices. Make no mistake, this is where things are heading."

The plant will also comply with the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The RFS program requires a certain volume of renewable fuel to replace or reduce the quantity of petroleum-based transportation fuel, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

"This is Outagamie's way of supporting this federal program. And it's really important for our environment to capture this gas. Instead of flaring it, we're turning it into a smart long-term viable renewable fuel,” Van Straten added.

The county will receive royalties from Mas Energy's gross sales of the renewable natural gas. This will bring more money to the county than it received with previous cogeneration plant, which produced electricity and heat.

According to the Post Crescent, the cogeneration facility was decommissioned in December. The county converted more than 70 percent of natural gas from the landfill into electricity, providing power for 4,500 homes since 1991.