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Plans for landfill gas recovery project are discussed
By Derek Hodges
Dillsboro officials, community members, and project leaders in the county’s landfill gas recovery project held a series of meeting this week to begin planning the new facilities.
“This is a real huge opportunity for us,” project coordinator Timm Muth said. “The sky’s sort of the limit at this point.”
The project involves drilling wells, not to find water, but to capture methane from the old county landfill in Dillsboro. The now-buried trash produces methane, a natural by-product of anaerobic decomposition. Methane can be burned to produce energy.
Vacuum pumps will move the gas from the wells through a pipeline to a combustion chamber.
Work on this system is already progressing, Muth said. The pipes that connecting the wells to the future site of the vacuum hve been laid, and equipment to build the blower has been ordered. The vacuum should be in place by the beginning of next year, Muth said.
“I don’t really see anything that can stand in our way at this point. We’ve got money from different grants, we’ve got local expertise in these areas, and we’ve got a great building,” Muth said.
The project will utilize several existing buildings at the site, including a warehouse formerly occupied by Webster Enterprises and a 30-foot tall transfer station.
Sylva architect Odell Thompson is working on sketches for the new facilities. His current renderings include four studio spaces, a large meeting room, a gallery and sales space, a cafe and outdoor dining area, and an area for handling plants and herbs.
“Right now we can do anything. Right now we’re dreaming,” Thompson said.
Thompson and Muth coordinated the series of meetings that focused on three groups that may fill the new center: crafters, artisans and horticulturists. The purpose of the meetings was to present the plan and allow input from those who might one day work in the space, Muth said.
“Consider these studios right now as a big, empty canvas,” Thompson said.
While his drawing depicted space for potters and glass blowers, there is also potential for blacksmiths, weavers and other skilled craftspersons, Thompson said. Just who ends up in the building will be decided by a juried competition, Muth said.
The facility is an opportunity to take a negative – methane gas, one of the greenhouse gases, leaking out of the landfill – and turn it into a positive. Not only will the center prevent the pollution, it will also provide an alternate energy source for the center, which will reduce the need for energy from standard sources, Muth said.
Thompson suggested several ways the building may be made even more efficient. For instance: the large, metal roofs on the buildings would provide a perfect location for solar energy panels; rain water could be captured and used in the building’s energy system; heat from working kilns and glassblowing furnaces could be recirculated; and wind could be harnessed to provide additional power.
“The nice thing about this project is it’s such a simple idea. It doesn’t take a whole lot of high-tech equipment,” Muth said. “We’re making some significant environmental contributions.”
Muth has worked with various energy sources throughout his career. He also worked for North Carolina’s State Energy Office, an office of the state government, before moving to Dillsboro a short time ago.
In addition to the environmental impact, the project could have economic benefits for the town as well, Muth said.
“People may not come here just to see this facility, but maybe once they’re here they’ll decide to stay an extra half-day to check it out,” Muth said. “This facility has the potential for bringing Dillsboro national attention.”
While the methane from the decomposing trash is projected to be able to sustain the center for about 20 years, there are other sources of energy that could be employed. In addition to the solar and wind power Thompson discussed, there are ways of forcing the production of methane.
“They’ve been doing this kind of thing in Europe for years because energy hasn’t been as cheap there as it has here,” Muth said. “Now with energy prices the way they are here, people are becoming more interested in projects like this. As energy costs rise, the cost of landfill gas hasn’t gone up at all.”
The same gases that are coming off the landfill are also produced by animal waste, compost heaps and other decomposing matter. If that matter is contained, the gas it produces can be captured and used for fuel, Muth said.
Those other energy sources have the capability to power the center well past the usefulness of the landfill gases, and perhaps indefinitely, Muth said.
“It seems like the possibilities are really limitless,” Dillsboro Mayor Jean Hartbarger said, who attended Monday’s meeting. “I’m so excited about about this, I really am. The thing that really intrigues me is that something so wonderful could be made out of what has been our neighbor for so long. I think it’s going to be a real economic plus.”
For more information about the project, contact Muth at 631-0271.
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