Waga Energy signs landfill gas contract

France-based Waga Energy and the Capital Regional District (CRD) say they are preparing a “high-capacity renewable natural gas (RNG) project at Hartland Landfill on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The project marks Waga Energy’s first landfill gas project in that province and its fourth in Canada.

Waga Energy says its Canadian subsidiary has signed a contract with the CRD, one of 28 districts in British Columbia, to build the facility at Hartland Landfill. “The new production unit will leverage the Wagabox technology developed and patented by Waga Energy to produce RNG from landfill gas,” the Quebec company says. Waga Energy says its proposal came out on top following the CRD’s request for proposals last year.

The Hartland Landfill system is expected to go online in the second half of 2024. Once running, Waga Energy says the unit will be able to process 2,000 standard cubic feet per minutes (scfm) of landfill gas. Based on expected gas volumes, it will be producing up to 345,000 metric million British thermal units (mmBTU) of gas and will save an estimated 450,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalents from entering the atmosphere over the next 25 years (by replacing fossil-based natural gas), the company says.

CRD board chair Colin Plant says, “Adopting long-term solutions that reduce our region’s emissions is a crucial part of the CRD’s commitment to take meaningful action on climate change. Partnering with Waga Energy on the design, construction and operation of a state-of-the-art landfill gas upgrading facility marks a significant investment in the future sustainability of our region.”

Waga Energy CEO Mathieu Lefebvre says, “We are excited about the opportunity to work with the CRD to support British Columbia’s energy transition by enabling the production of significant amounts of competitively priced RNG. Over the past five years we have built, commissioned, and operated 13 units in Europe, allowing us to develop substantial know-how in the production of RNG from landfill gas. In the past 18 months alone, we have initiated five Wagabox projects in North America, so there is clearly growing interest in our technology.”

The Wagabox unit for the Hartland Landfill will be built in Quebec by Waga Energy’s Canadian subsidiary, with the exception of a cryogenic distillation module to be imported from France. The facility will be operated and maintained by Waga Energy for 25 years. The RNG produced by the unit will be sold by the CRD to Canadian utility FortisBC and injected into the gas grid via a pipeline extension.

The CRD encompasses 13 municipalities and serves a population of 432,000 on southern Vancouver Island and nearby Islands. It operates Hartland Landfill, which receives waste from residents across the region. The Wagabox unit will replace a gas-to-electricity plant that has been in operation at the landfill since 2004.