Virginia landfill partners with Archaea for RNG plant

The Roanoke Valley Resource Authority (RVRA) landfill in Virginia is gearing up to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) through a partnership with BP subsidiary Archaea Energy.

The landfill, which receives more than 500 million pounds of waste per year from Roanoke, Salem, Roanoke County and Vinton, is currently preparing for a scheduled startup in late 2025. As reported by The Roanoke Times, BP crews are now drilling additional biogas wells at the site to improve gas capture rates.

BP will also dig all the landfill’s future wells, which are legally required, thereby saving the authority money, says RVRA Director of Technical Services Jeremy Garrett.

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“They’re doing a pretty substantial upgrade to our existing wellfield to make it operate better,” Garrett tells The Roanoke Times. “That’s a major investment on their part that we nor the regulators require. There’s no out-of-pocket cost for the authority.”

An increased rate of biogas captured from the landfill will create marketable RNG used for electricity and heating. The gas will be pumped into existing pipelines and used alongside traditional natural gas.

The resource authority will receive a percent cut of the sales, tendered by Archaea.

“It’s one of those situations where the economics really do meet the environmental needs,” Garrett says.

In a statement to The Roanoke Times, BP says it is looking forward to bringing the RNG plant online in 2025.