OLD TOWN, Maine — Casella Waste Systems Inc. subsidiary EcoGas LLC has filed a petition for preliminary approval with the Maine Public Utilities Commission to build and operate a seven-mile pipeline to send Juniper Ridge Landfill gas to the University of Maine in Orono.
The pipeline system would move methane gas from the landfill to UMaine’s Steam Plant, where it would be used to run boilers and create heat for campus buildings.
Made of 12-inch diameter high-density polyethylene pipe, the gas pipeline would run south to Route 43 before turning east on Route 43 to the intersection with the College Avenue Extension, where it would continue on to the Steam Plant. Casella expects the project will cost between $11 million and $13.5 million to design, build and permit.
The university and Casella reached a deal in November 2011 after about three years of discussion.
UMaine Vice President for Administration and Finance Janet Waldron said in November that the 20-year agreement is expected to save the university a total of about $15 million.
The University of Maine System’s flagship campus expects the move to landfill methane gas will cut the campus’s carbon emissions by 40 percent — a big step toward the university’s goal of reaching a zero carbon footprint — according to Waldron.
“Combusting methane also creates a potential revenue in the carbon offset credit market,” Casella Manager of Planning and Development Don Meagher wrote in his testimony in the petition. “When combusted, methane is converted to carbon dioxide, which reduces the greenhouse gas impact by 96 percent.”
That cut in emissions can be “traded” on carbon offset credit markets, providing revenue, Meagher said. The University of Maine would receive 92 percent of the revenue from those credits.
“Casella and UMaine have worked collaboratively for more than three years to develop a pipeline that will provide economic and environmental benefits to both parties,” Meagher said.
According to the agreement, Old Town will receive 5 percent of Casella’s gas sales revenue, 8 percent of the carbon offset credit attributes and free landfill disposal of the town’s waste treatment plant sludge.
Casella needs the commission’s initial approval before seeking final approval, which would allow the EcoGas to begin construction.
The PUC will hold an initial case conference on the EcoGas petition at 10 a.m. April 25 in the PUC’s Ballard Room, 101 Second St., Hallowell.
Casella hopes to complete the permitting process for the project by Dec. 31 so it can begin construction by March 2013, according to the petition. The pipeline could be ready to send gas to UMaine by the winter of 2013-14.
“Old Town would receive 92 percent of the revenue from those credits”
“Old Town will receive ….. 8 percent of the carbon offset credit ”
Well, which is it?
Actually, it states that UMaine would receive the 92% credit.
Not when 1st posted. McCrea has cleaned up the article since.
Given that Casella is already selling biogas from Mt Trashmore off I-95 and piping it to UM-Bangor’s Heating Plant now, this one is, from both a proven engineering, and financial, standpoint, a successfully demonstrated and done deal. Does the distance and right’s-of-way issue require serious effort’s to resolve ? No question, it does. But that doesn’t mean that the actual proven engineering principles and concept’s don’t work. You take what works and build on it. Now if the other landfill’s could be used for similar purposes, well, Maine might just have something here to show the rest of the Country. How many landfill’s are there that are a potental source of biogas that could be used for heat and power generation ? Sometime’s, if we all stop screaming, the smallest voice is the one that has the answer.
very well said Mike,some folks have a hard time seeing past there nose
It sounds like an inside deal. Why should UMO gain the benefits and savings from the methane project? I doubt that it will reduce tuition fees. Generate electricity at the site or use it to heat a greenhouse on-site are two options which make more economical sense. How could a project absorb the cost of a pipeline without including some special deals or other incentives? This project requires detailed scrutiny instead of of giving a quick approval just because it is the University of Maine.
I agree! I am SOOoooo disappointed with the University of Maine. Wonderful, that it may be able to lighten its carbon footprint, but what about the carbon footprint produced by all the trucks, dripping waste along our highways (did you know Casella gets most of its trash by trucking in out of state waste including biomedical waste? – and who fixes the highways; who will pay for the pipeline; who will pay for any clean up should accidents occur. Casella has produced one sneaky lie after another, and local citizens have been tracking the story for almost a decade, and then the university (with their head in the clouds) decides to rub elbows with them. I think the University has a responsibility to the community that hosts it. What has been the consultation process with citizens, especially landowners who will find themselves with a methane pipeline in their backyards!!! And I thought colleges were suppose to be smart!
Sounds like the mob is looking to trying to steal from the state now.
Carbon Credits are the equivalent of the church selling indulgences.
The University of New Hampshire has been doing a similar deal with landfill gas for a few years. I know this got very good press when it was approved and when it began operations.
Might be interesting for a reporter from BDN to see how this has worked out for UNH (I don’t know – just seems like there is a case close by that could tell us something here)
This smells on a lot of different levels. Expect big cost overruns to design and build the pipeline. $13 million is a lo-ball and $15 million savings over 20 years is a hi-ball. I’m also a little leery of their capacity. I know Casella can pack the trash, I’m unsure if they can commercially generate that much methane. A 12 inch pipeline?? A little optimistic?
Another public-private partnership? UMO and most all big universities are so deep in the pockets of for-profit corporations at this point that the concept of academic freedom just seems quaint and naive. Taxpayers, make sure to get your checks in on time today so that your government and the public institutions it supports can help Casella, Cianbro, et al. get even richer. You know what happens to peasants who fail to pay up under feudalism don’t you?