Calabasas Landfill plans energy recovery project

Plans for an energy recovery facility at the Calabasas Landfill—a project that will produce electricity for more than 17,000 homes—are moving ahead.

Two representatives from the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County came to the Calabasas City Council earlier this month with an update on the project, which recently went out to bid and should be under construction by the end of the year.

As the refuse in the landfill decomposes it produces a gas mostly comprised of methane, which is the primary component of natural gas. A new building at the landfill will contain 50 combustion turbines that are fueled by the landfill gas. The facility will generate enough electricity for more than 17,000 homes and has a lifespan of about 15 years.

"Because of the recent development in energy-producing equipment, we can now take advantage of that gas and beneficially reuse it to generate electricity, green power," said Robert Ferrante, the assistant head of the county's solid waste management department.

Mark McDannel, head of energy-recovery engineering at the sanitation department, addressed possible aesthetic issues. "We know people are going to want to know, 'Can I see it and can I hear it?'"

McDannel said the 25-foot tall plant will be built behind a 10-foot tall wall and that the noise will be "below background" even next to the closest homes. McDaniel said studies show the plant's visibility will be "less than significant." He said if necessary, the county will work with the National Park Service to shroud the facility in native plant landscaping.

Construction on the energy production facility is expected to be completed by summer of 2009.

"The county's always taken pride in taking what other considers a waste into a beneficial resource," said Ferrante, who pointed out that the county reuses 5,000 tons of landfill green waste and 2,000 tons of asphalt annually.

"The next evolution is reusing landfill gas generating from the decomposing refusing," he said.