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Generating electricity from landfill gas in Brazil
Context
Brazil as a country is the 5th biggest producer of waste in the world. In 2015, Brazil’s generation of municipal solid waste was around 79.9 million tonnes, corresponding to 1.071 kg of waste per person per day.
The majority of this waste ends up in landfills, where it decomposes and releases methane gas. Methane is around 34 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and, when released into the atmosphere, has a significant impact on warming.
Project
The objective of the Uberlândia landfills I and II project is to collect the landfill gas produced in the Uberlândia landfills and use it to generate electricity.
This project covers two landfill sites: Uberlândia landfill I which received 2,100,000 tonnes of domestic waste between 1995-2010; and Uberlândia landfill II which will receive 4,500,000 m3 of solid waste during its lifetime. The project will collect the methane gas that is produced from this waste, and implement the infrastructure needed to convert this gas into clean energy.
A total capacity of 2.80 MW will be installed, composed of 2 engines with individual capacity of 1.4 MW each. The project is expected to produce 354,968 MWh of energy during its lifetime.
The implementation of this project will both prevent environmentally damaging methane from being released into the atmosphere, and export renewable electricity to the grid, avoiding the dispatch of the same amount of electricity from fossil-fuel based power plants in the Brazilian National Grid. Additionally, the project will provide labour capacity and income generation, as qualified operators are needed to maintain and operate the machinery.
Landfill Methane
Landfills generate methane as organic waste decomposes. Rather than getting released as emissions, that methane can be captured and used to produce electricity.
Over the course of a century, methane has 34 times the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide. Landfills are a top source of methane emissions, releasing 12 percent of the world’s total. Landfill methane can be tapped, captured, and used as a fairly clean energy source for generating electricity or heat, rather than leaking into the air or being dispersed as waste.
The climate benefit is twofold: prevent landfill emissions and displace coal, oil, or natural gas that might otherwise be used.
UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
The goals recognised by Uberlandia Landfills are
