Lumbee River EMC helps Robeson County add energy generation at its landfill site

The Robeson County landfill gas-to-electricity site (photo by LREMC).

Lumbee River EMC recently helped Robeson County expand its landfill gas-to-electricity operation. Because the co-op secured $940,000 in USDA rural development funding, Robeson County added an additional 1-megawatt power generation system to the Robeson County Municipal Solid Waste Landfill in St. Pauls.

The project of converting biogas, mostly methane, to electricity has been underway at the landfill site since 2012. The additional generator allows the operation to fully collect and convert biogas released throughout the 48-acre covered section of the landfill. With just one generator previously in place, the operation captured only 45 percent of the biogas.

The project expansion allows Robeson County, which is served by LREMC, to reduce greenhouse gases while creating revenue for the county government. The electric power produced from the landfill gas is transmitted into Lumbee River EMC’s grid and sold through a 10-year power purchase agreement to North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (the power supply entity owned by the state’s electric cooperatives). The gas-to-electricity facility has produced more than $1.2 million in revenue through electricity sales, renewable energy credits and carbon credit sales.

The USDA funding, combined with $60,000 in a LREMC matching loan and $300,000 in county funding, met the total $1.3 million needed for the additional equipment.