Methane gas could provide city's energy

The garbage you threw away at breakfast this morning may be heating your dorm room in a couple of years.

The city of Oberlin hopes to start using methane gas given off by the landfill on highway 58 to heat the city, according to Oberlin Power and Light Director Vic Oeftering.

The gas would be cleaned and then run through an engine to generate electricity.

Oeftering said methane gas is highly flammable and must be channeled through hoses away from the garbage and burned gradually so it doesn't explode. He said methane gas would still be a pollutant if it was burned, but it would reduce overall pollution by offsetting other pollutants such as coal.

Visiting assistant professor of Art Stan Mathews said methane gas can generate a third of the power used daily in Oberlin. Oeftering agreed one third is a feasible estimate.

Oeftering said methane cannot yet be used for power because of its cost. He said new federal and state legislation requires competition among power sources, thus the city must provide customers the cheapest power available. It would cost the city twice as much to buy a methane generator as to purchase coal to heat the city's buildings.

The College is still interested in the methane-burning plan, however. Oeftering said the switch to methane power cannot happen without College support because the College is Power and Light's biggest customer.

Oeftering said the most expensive part of the switch would be buying the generator and implementing a technology to clean the gas. Because it is dirty and combustible, methane gas must be cleaned before it is used to generate electricity. Oeftering said several technologies are available to clean the gas, but he doesn't know now which is most economic.

Oeftering said the city may ask interested citizens to donate money to help buy a generator. He said once the machinery and the gas-cleaning method are in place, burning methane costs no more than burning coal to provide power.

Oeftering said the city has already hired a team of engineers to study the plan to harness the landfill's methane.

The entire city would benefit from a new energy system. According to Mathews, the new OASIS dog shelter is an example of one building that will profit from the new energy source. The new shelter, located next to the landfill, will open in a couple of weeks.

Mathews said after the gas goes through the generator, the waste heat can be used to heat the shelter. He also said that if a generator is not installed, the shelter can be heated directly by the heat the burning gas already gives off.

Oeftering said other U.S. cities have successfully switched to burning methane as a power source.