Landfill’s methane to power jail in New Mexico

Landfill gas, which is created naturally by decomposing trash, will be harnessed from the massive Cerro Colorado Landfill

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By Dan McKay Journal
The Albuquerque Journal

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(Image courtesy of the City of Albuquerque)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Landfill's Methane To Power Jail; Gas will help provide energy for Metropolitan Detention Center

City Hall wants to put its massive Cerro Colorado Landfill to work. Rotting trash at the landfill produces methane that officials plan to harness to help power boilers at the West Side jail. It could end up providing about $26,000 worth of energy a year for the jail.

The gas is now burned off to keep it from polluting the air. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, meaning it contributes to global warming.

The $1 million project should start within a year to 18 months, said Jill Holbert, deputy director of Albuquerque's Department of Solid Waste Management. It's funded jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the city and Bernalillo County, which owns and operates the jail.

"I think it will be a good use for something that's being wasted now," County Commissioner Michael Wiener said in an interview.

Landfill gas is created naturally by decomposing trash. Cerro Colorado has been open for 20 years, and it's now producing enough gas to make tapping it worthwhile.

The city already collects the gas through plumbing at the landfill. But instead of burning it off, the city will soon send it via pipeline to the nearby Metropolitan Detention Center. The jail will use the energy to provide hot water for laundry, showers and other uses.

Some of it also will provide power for glass-recycling equipment at the landfill site.

"Where we've just been burning off the gas with no benefit at all," Holbert said, "we are now turning it into energy" and saving fossil fuels.

The landfill is expected to be open for another 30 years and keep producing gas for about 30 years after that.

Landfill gas is about 50 percent methane.

Few landfills in New Mexico are harnessed for energy. The city of Albuquerque already extracts gas at its old Los Angeles Landfill - now the Balloon Fiesta's RV parking area - and uses it to produce electricity.

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