Randolph County begins process to capture methane at landfill

ASHEBORO —Commissioners are now negotiating a contract with a company they hope will give Randolph County the ability to capture, recycle and sell methane from the landfill.

At the Oct. 6 meeting, they voted to pursue a partnership with Waga Energy, Inc., a company that extracts methane gas to repurpose for energy. The vote was split with David Allen, Hope Haywood and Lester Rivenbark for and Kenny Kidd against.

Kidd said he wanted more time to review all the companies that applied for the contract and to give Commissioner Chair Darrell Frye time to ask his own questions. Frye was not at the meeting due to recovering from a fall that day.

At the Sept. 8 commissioner meeting, County Manager Zeb Holden first announced that they would try to capture methane produced by decomposing landfill waste.

A Request for Proposals was put out by consultants LaBella Associates, and the firm Smith+Gardner Engineers helped interview and evaluate the proposals.

Out of eight proposals, County Engineer Paxton Arthurs announced that they narrowed it down to four: Evensol, Sparq Renewables, Waga Energy, Inc., and WM Renewable Energy.

Holden said that they will go through a 60-day due diligence period before approving a contract. He said that because all the candidates were strong, they have other companies as backups if this contract does not work out.

Waga, according to its website, partners with landfills and municipalities worldwide to cut down on methane and biogas emissions by turning it into renewable natural gas.

The infrastructure will take many years to build before the county can sell any methane gas. Allen said they should move quickly on the decision. “Literally, gas and money’s burning out there,” he said.

Kidd said he understood the timeliness, but that Frye had some concerns he had not yet been able to bring up; among them, whether the contractor can tap into the lines of Piedmont Natural Gas (PNG).

“When talking to [Frye], I do feel like this issue is pretty huge for the next however many years in Randolph County,” Kidd said. “It’s not next year or two. It’s the next 40 years in Randolph County. It’s a big decision, and I think it deserves the full consideration of the whole board.”

Holden said PNG told him they would have capacity for 2,100 standard cubic feet per minute (SCFM) per day.

He said, “The production of gas presently on the site is in the 1,700 range, but that’s all the gases. That’s not the purified methane. There’s a time period if the company that we choose ultimately is looking to get into that Piedmont Natural Gas pipeline. There’s a time period for them to research and develop the next step.”

Haywood said she felt county staff had compiled enough information to decide that evening. She said she liked the technology Waga had patented to capture all gas and then extract the methane.

“Their longterm business model, according to my research, they act as developer, financier, and operator, so they are in the position to do those things, and I like that their technology is quieter,” she said.

Rivenbark shared the concerns that Frye was not there to ask questions, but he voted to proceed with Waga.

Holden said they will have an update once they get into the negotiations.