Flared methane will cease when the gas is harnessed for fleet operations, Grand Junction, CO.
Late 2014 BioCNG, LLC broke ground to launch the BioCNG™ biogas conditioning system and gas pipeline for the Persigo wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), in Grand Junction, Colorado. The BioCNG system will produce about 500 gallons of gasoline equivalent per day from the WWTP digester gas, which will be piped nearly 6 miles to Grand Junction’s existing compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station.
According to the Cithy of Grand Junction, the economics of taking “free” fuel and utilizing it as a vehicle fuel are very attractive, and the environmental benefits are outstanding. Mayor Norris explains, “The Persigo BioCNG Project can serve as a model for other communities as part of a strategy to address air quality, climate change, energy efficiency, and energy security and independence.” Currently the methane gas is flared.
The BioCNG will be used to fuel a fleet of 30 vehicles, including City refuse trucks, dump trucks, pick-ups and sedans. The project, the first its kind in Colorado, continues the City’s movement toward a CNG-fueled fleet. The savings in CNG fuel versus diesel fuel are expected to pay off immediately and the cost of the entire project should be paid off in a decade.
According to the City of Grand Junction, the project also eliminates burning off methane biogas that is the equivalent of about 146,000 gallons of gasoline a year, and prevents the annual release into the atmosphere of nearly 3 million pounds of carbon dioxide.
Matt Davies, president of BioCNG, LLC, said, “The City of Grand Junction and Mesa County have been leaders in expanding the use of CNG for their fleet and it is exciting to be part of this new initiative.”
The project is jointly owned by the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County, CO and is scheduled to be completed by April 2015. The $2.8 million project is part-funded by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, which contributed more than $500,000.
(Source: BioCNG, LLC)
