Using Landfill Gas to Provide Energy to the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center
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Albuquerque, New Mexico
Federal Funding: $500,000
Project Timeline: July 2010 – June 2013
- Project Summary
- Community Characteristics
- Results
- Lessons Learned
- Sustainability/ Replication
- Project Websites
The City of Albuquerque developed a pipeline that transports natural gas from the City’s Cerro Colorado landfill to Bernalillo County’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where it fires the facility's heating and hot water boilers. The City secured a design-build contractor that finished construction activities, including digging trenches and laying pipeline from the landfill to the detention center that was completed in June 2013. The project built a gas line from the gas control and collection system (GCCS) to the nearby county detention center. The facility’s six boilers were modified to use landfill gas, starting with three of the boilers, with more to be fired as the landfill expands. The City also developed a public education strategy, targeting the general public, green entrepreneurs, and governmental agencies. The emphasis is on renewable energy, green technologies, public empowerment, and sustainability in public-private partnerships.
The City developed the following documents: Integrity Management Plan, Emergency Response Plan, Operator Qualifications Plan, and Public Awareness Plan.
Population: 508,000
Area: 181 square miles
Government Type: City
Community Type: Urban
Median Household Income: $45,962
|
Final Results |
Projected Cumulative Results |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Annual GHG Reductions |
55,400 mt CO2e |
44,400 mt CO2e |
|
Renewable Energy Generation |
400 standard cubic feet/ minute (scfm) of landfill gas (12.1 MMBTUs/ hour) |
8.7 MMBTUs/hour |
Initially, Albuquerque had issues with obtaining and maintaining adequate temperatures to heat the domestic water. They city remedied the issue with the addition of a butterfly valve.
- The City secured a contractor early in the process
- It was helpful to the project’s feasibility to locate a federal funding source
- Developing and implementing a public education strategy bolstered support for the project