The partnership between Enbridge Gas and Waste Connections Canada to harness the methane coming off the Ridge Landfill is great news for the area.
Most importantly, the proposed gas plant slated for the landfill will cut down the methane emissions from the landfill.
To put things in perspective, as the organic mass in a landfill decomposes, methane gas is released. And methane is 84 times more effective at absorbing the sun’s heat than carbon dioxide.
That makes it one of the most potent greenhouse gases, and a big contributor to climate change.
Figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indicate 17 per cent of all methane emissions in that country come from landfills. Expect similar numbers in Canada.
The Ridge, which has been operational since the mid-1960s, should supply enough gas to heat 18,000 homes in Chatham-Kent.
The new $50-million plant that will convert garbage-generated methane into low-carbon renewable natural gas is expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an astounding 110,000 tonnes annually.
The province is looking to phase out renewable natural gas emissions from landfills by the end of this decade.
It’s good news on the environmental front, and it is good news on the employment front. Mayor Darrin Canniff said the operation will create about 50 good quality jobs.
“This type of development represents the best of both worlds and puts Chatham-Kent at the leading edge of energy transition,” Canniff said.
He’s right. The plant is the first of its kind in Ontario.
Enbridge will add about six kilometres of pipeline to support the project.
Hope is that construction begins sometime next year.
It is hopefully the first of many in the province.
