Two LFG-to-energy projects move forward in California county

San Bernardino County, California, has entered into agreements with Bio-Fuels San Bernardino Biogas LLC to sell landfill gas (LFG) from the Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill in Rialto and the Colton Sanitary Landfill in Colton.

As reported by the Fontana Herald News, LFG produced at the Mid-Valley Landfill will be processed and turned into renewable natural gas (RNG). The gas will be processed to meet standards set by SoCal Gas, a natural gas utility based in Los Angeles, for accepting RNG into the pipeline, according to the county.

At the Colton Landfill, the LFG will be used to generate electricity, which will power a hydrogen generation plant that converts natural gas from a nearby pipeline into hydrogen fuel.

Bio-Fuels San Bernardino Biogas will pay a minimum of $600,000 per year, and potentially up to an estimated $3 million per year, in lease and royalty payments for the rights to use the LFG, reports the Fontana Herald News.

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The Mid-Valley Landfill facility is expected to be completed this September. The Colton Landfill facility is still in its design phase, with construction expected to begin in the next few years.

In 2021, the city of San Bernardino announced the completed construction of a 1.4-megawatt biofuels fuel cell project provided by Danbury, Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy Inc. The SureSource 1500 power plant operates on the city’s anaerobic digester gas, which will be treated by FuelCell’s proprietary SureSource Treatment system, cleanly producing electricity and thermal energy to support the operation of the San Bernardino Municipal Water Department’s water reclamation plant.

According to a release announcing the installation of the system, the SureSource 1500 power plant will use methane-rich biogas that would otherwise be flared to produce hydrogen for clean, renewable, carbon-neutral power.