A ribbon cutting is held at the new Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) facility at Outagamie County Recycling & Solid Waste, March 1, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Outagamie County is celebrating a project that will provide clean energy well beyond county lines.
The county held a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday for its new $25 million renewable natural gas (RNG) facility at Outagamie County Recycling & Solid Waste.
The facility harvests methane that comes off the landfill, cleans it and puts it on the grid that will heat thousands of surrounding homes.
Terreva Renewables, which partnered with the county on the project, says another portion of the created energy will power commercial vehicles, trucks and buses, using compressed natural gas, all over the country.
The facility will save about 4 million gallons of gasoline consumption each year, equivalent to removing more than 7,700 cars off the road.
Outagamie County executive Tom Nelson says the facility is an example of how people can act locally and make a big difference.
“This is exactly the kind of thing that a county should do; this is exactly the kind of thing state government and federal government and the private sector should do, to try and get a handle on the environmental degradation that’s going on in our country and around the world,” Nelson said.
Outagamie County solid waste superintendent, Gregory Parins says Outagamie County has proudly been in the renewable energy business for 25 years.
“Those monies coming from the sale of this gas are going to help offset our internal costs and more importantly, they’re going to help stabilize our tip rate. And our tip rate is what we charge for every ton of waste that comes across our scale and it’s that revenue that allow us to function as a department, it also allows us to continue curbside collection for all Outagamie County residents, recycling, free of charge. “Additionally, we’re proud to say that we have one of the lowest tip rates in the state,” he explained.
The system itself will also provide cleaner air for Outagamie County residents. As it collects methane gas, it will reduce local emissions from CO2 to nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur oxides.
Officials say the facility will soon operate 24/7 and should serve the county for the next 30 years.
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