Fortistar upgrades LFG to energy facility

Fortistar, management specialists focused on investments in energy sources for transitioning to a zero carbon economy, has announced that it has upgraded its renewable landfill gas (LFG) to energy station at the closed Lopez Canyon Landfill managed by LA Sanitation. The station will supply 3 megawatts (MW) of electrical power to the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

Located in Lake View Terrace, CA, Fortistar’s Lopez Landfill Gas Energy Station is the only LFG renewable energy project in the City of Los Angeles Feed in Tariff (FiT) programme, which promotes active investment in and promotion of renewable energy sources. The FiT programme allows the LADWP to partner with third party energy companies, like Fortistar, to purchase electricity from renewable energy generating systems for the city’s power grid, helping it meet the state mandated goal of 33% renewable energy by 2020.

”Smart investments in green technology are key to building a more sustainable future for LA," said City of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. "By creating renewable energy from the greenhouse gas it captures, the Lopez Landfill Gas Energy Station will reduce emissions while making our city more resilient."

“With this landfill gas station, Lopez Canyon is a valuable renewable energy resource in the Northeast San Fernando Valley,” said Councilmember Felipe Fuentes who represents the Seventh Council District. “This project will help the City of Los Angeles meet its renewable energy mandates and sustainability goals.”

Lopez Canyon Landfill opened in 1975 and has been closed to refuse collection since 1996. Over 19 million tons of waste in the landfill continues to produce gas from buried trash. An extensive and sophisticated landfill gas collection and conveyance system delivers the gas to the upgraded facility to convert this landfill gas to renewable energy, helping meet the goal of reducing carbon emissions in a cost effective way.

“Municipalities and companies are increasingly looking to reduce their carbon footprint to meet sustainability goals. Renewable landfill gas to energy is one of the cost effective ways to achieve this,” said Mark Comora, CEO of Fortistar. “Furthermore, municipalities can turn their landfills into renewable energy assets that generate additional revenue.”

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), landfills are the third largest source of human related landfill gas emissions in the US. At the same time, landfill gas emissions from landfills represent an opportunity to capture and generate a significant energy resource.

“As both the local economy and our communities have continued to grow, so has the demand for our most precious resources,” said California State Assemblywoman Patty López (D-San Fernando). “The importance of developing and maintaining renewable energy supplies in this region cannot be overstated. And by leveraging key partnerships between the public and private sectors, we can find a way to secure the future of our residents, our businesses and our environment.”

The Lopez Energy LFG station is owned, operated and managed by Lopez Energy LLC, a Fortistar company. Fortistar manages 31 LFG projects in the US with approximate capacity of 174 MW that combined have carbon pollution sequestration equivalent to 7 million acres of forests — a forest larger than New Jersey and Delaware combined.

“LADWP values local renewable generation resources, such as landfill gas generation projects, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Michael Webster, Executive Director of Power System Engineering and Technical Services at LADWP. “We are proud to partner with Fortistar on the Lopez Canyon project as part of a continuing effort to meet our renewable energy goals.”

"Working together with our public and private partners, our landfill energy project reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, offsets the use and cost of non-renewable resources from fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal, and improves our local air quality," said Enrique C. Zaldivar, Director of LA Sanitation. "The continued development of advanced environmentally, economically, and socially responsible energy projects such as the facility we have at Lopez Canyon will help ensure a sustainable future for us all."

Adapted from press release by Francesca Brindle

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/17062016/fortistar-upgrades-landfill-gas-to-energy-facility-in-la-us-3538/