0121 analysis and modelling of landfill gas resource

WASTE TO ENERGY Audit, Analysis and Modelling of Landfill Gas Resource Leading Waste Management Company, Ireland

Project Summary

Audit, Analysis and Modelling of Landfill Gas Resource Leading waste management organisation, Ireland

Project Value: £54,000 Key Project Elements  Landfill gas auditing  Landfill gas resource assessment

 Identification of energy production improvement measures

 Identification of management improvement opportunities

 Quick turnaround project

CRA was commissioned to examine and advise on the future landfill gas (LFG) resource across the landfill portfolio of a leading waste management organisation in Ireland. The client owns nine landfill gas to energy power stations that are fuelled by LFG and export electricity to the Irish grid.

The aim of the work was to provide the client with an independent assessment of:  the value of the LFG in the ground;  the shape of the future LFG production profile; and  the practical methods the client could apply to their landfills in order to enhance LFG recovery and maximise energy production.

CRA carried out facility audits of each landfill site. LFG forecasts of the bulk gas generation and the recoverable gas resource were calculated for two scenarios: a “business as usual” case - the gas yield and associated revenue if the client did nothing at these sites, and a “push target” case – the higher gas yield and associated revenue which could be achieved if additional investment and effort was made. The project presented a time challenge for CRA, all site audits and initial reports for each facility were required within three weeks, and a first draft of the resource assessment and final report was required within eight weeks.

CRA completed all work within the required timeframe, and used a cutting edge approach to model the recoverable landfill gas resource. The method was developed by a Director of CRA Europe and has been proven on many other LFG portfolios internationally. The method incorporated landfill site audits as an integral part of the resource assessment, and provided an integrated approach that enabled closure of the model forecast to within plus or minus a few percent of the actual site performance over the previous five financial years of power production. A high level of scrutiny helped to calibrate the models by hindcasting, which allowed forecast of the future gas resource with a greater degree of accuracy than any other modelling technique.

CRA identified a number of “push target” improvements which could be applied to the client’s landfill portfolio to improve gas yield and revenue. The improvements included both site-specific technical solutions and cross-portfolio operational management solutions, including recommendations for remote data collection and engine management. CRA forecast that if the client implemented these improvements, the organisation could achieve an additional 11.7% of power generation over the next five years; when compared with the “business as usual” scenario.

Ref: PS0121