VERO BEACH — Excitement was in the air as Nopetro CEO Jorge Herrera cut the ribbon which commemorates the official opening of its brand new landfill gas (LFG) to renewable natural gas (RNG) production facility, or the Nopetro Eco District.
The first of its kind in the region, Indian River County commissioners and other officials joined in on the celebration, marking the culmination of over five years of effort.
Commissioner Chair Joe Flescher said the addition of the facility will allow the county to make better use of its landfill gas.
"We were flaring it, which is simply burning it off. We were getting carbon credits. It's a difficult concept to take the gas product that is developed within the landfill and make it safe," he said. "That's why I'm excited that Nopetro chose Indian River County. At our landfill, they found ample gas supply to be able to cleanse it and develop it into a positive resource for the community."
Himanshu Mehta, managing director of solid waste for the county, expanded on the history of landfill management in Indian River.
"When you decompose waste, it produces methane gas, predominantly methane gas, and it's very harmful to the environment. So on a voluntary basis, for over 20 years we've been collecting the gas. That reduces odors, reduces the likelihood of landfill fires, and shows we're being good stewards of the environment," he said.
According to Nopetro, the new facility will be able to produce over three million gallons of RNG fuel annually, as well as remove 30,000 metric tons of CO2 each year. Its output will account for 80% of Indian River County's natural gas demand.
RNG is a biogas alternative fuel with the lowest carbon footprint. The facility removes methane from the Indian River County landfill, purifies it, and distributes the gas across the county. Senior Vice President of RNG Operations at Nopetro Mike Whitney explained the multi-phase process for cleaning the LFG and turning into RNG.
"There's a vacuum applied to the landfill that collects the gas so it doesn't emit into the atmosphere. Then that gas is collected in the pipeline network, goes through a couple of blowers, and it's sent up here to the RNG plant through about a 3,500-foot transmission line," he said. "We take it here at the plant, we filter the impurities out of it — that means hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, any volatiles that come out of the landfill. When it comes into us as landfill gas, it's about 50% methane. By the time we remove those impurities, it's about 95% methane, and then we inject it into Florida City Gas pipelines."
Flescher went on to say that he believes better management of LFGs will reap in major benefits outside of just environmental stewardship.
"It means economic development. It's an attractor. I believe this is a great example of a public-private partnership, and I do anticipate expansion and growth," he said. "I think this is a good message that this type of process is viable, and it also can infuse some development, not only in terms of the resource, but economically as well as job creation delivered back to the community."
The facility aligns with Nopetro's mission of transitioning away from fossil fuels.
"Our company's mission is to continue transitioning heavy-duty transportation with renewable natural gas. Nopetro produces and distributes natural gas. Our legacy business has always been on the fueling station side, where we own and operate fueling facilities for heavy-duty transportation — buses and trucks. Today, 50% of the transit buses in the country and 50% of the solid waste trucks in the country run on natural gas," Herrera said.
Whitney compared the quality of the RNG fuel to traditional fossil fuels.
"Our gas actually meets — and even exceeds — fossil fuel standards. We're running about 95 to 97% pure methane. Fossil fuel runs about 93 to 95%, so it's comparable," he said.
Safety remains the top priority for Nopetro, Whitney said.
"We've got all kinds of safety devices and emergency devices. You can shut the plant down in a heartbeat if there's something wrong. We see all these red buttons located strategically around the plant. Any one of those will shut the plant down," he said. "If there's an issue, the plant gets shut down and we address it. We've also worked with the local fire departments to make sure they understand how to respond if there is an event."
While the opening of the facility is the culmination of years of effort, Nopetro says its just the beginning. Plans for expansion are already being considered.
"I continue to see renewable natural gas playing a significant role in the transition of heavy-duty transportation over to natural gas," Herrera said.
The Vero Beach facility was developed with support from Mead & Hunt, an engineering and construction firm with a background in the industry. Nopetro will partner with schools in the county to provide educational opportunities using the facility.