Middle Point Landfill touts renewable natural gas project: 'This is proven technology'
Renewable natural gas from Middle Point Landfill will provide energy for 80,000-plus homes annually, project officials say.
The landfill operators with Arizona-based Republic Services are pursing the $70 million "Project Lightning" at Middle Point with Archaea Energy, which is part of BP. The renewable natural gas plant operation will open by early 2025 on about 7 acres of Middle Point property that's adjacent to the East Fork Stones River in north Rutherford County.
The process with Archaea Energy will change the usual method of combusting the 35-year-old landfill's methane gas through enclosed flares shaped like two farm silos.
Instead, all of the methane gas will be scrubbed at the Archaea plant to convert the material to pipeline quality renewable natural gas that will be injected into Atmos Energy pipeline on nearby U.S. Highway 231, Middle Point General Manager Mike Classen said.
"This is proven technology," said Classen, noting that the renewable natural gas project at Middle Point Landfill is the largest one out of 40 Republic Services is pursuing with Archaea Energy all around the United States. "Republic Services has a sustainability goal to increase our generation of biogas by over 50% by 2030."
Classen and other Middle Point representatives have faced opposition and lawsuits to landfill operations, odors and expansion plans to continue in the long term from residents in Rutherford's rural Walter Hill community and the north Murfreesboro area. Officials with the Murfreesboro and Rutherford governments and the Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Planning Board also have opposed Middle Point proposed expansion of the 207-acre landfill.
Republic Services owns 803 acres off East Jefferson Pike (state Route 266) that include the landfill, soil excavation, vegetation areas, parking and recreation land for local softball and football teams to use near the northern boundary of Murfreesboro, Classen said.
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Archaea Energy expands on renewable energy plants
Archaea Energy at this time has 15 renewable natural gas plants that also can provide energy for industry, said Steven Boor, a lead developer engineer and interim chief operating officer for Archaea Energy.
"We're excited for the partnership with Republic all over the country," said Boor, adding that the project will increase the renewable energy supply in the United States of America.
The Archaea Energy plant will clean and condition the landfill's gas, including stripping out carbon dioxide, nitrogen and other contaminants, before turning the methane gas into pipeline quality renewable natural gas that could show up at homes, factories and other industry, Boor said.
"It could end up anywhere in the country," said Boor, noting the product is interchangeable with other natural gas. "The difference here is this is a renewable fuel."
Boor touts how the project turns solid waste byproduct into a renewable energy that will continue unlike conventional gas and oil wells that eventually run dry.
None of the wells that are part of the Archaea Energy project involve fracking used to get to conventional natural gas and oil, Boor said.
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The project at Middle Point involves a range of 50 to 150 construction workers, including pipefitters, welders, electricians, and dirt excavators/graders, Boor said.
Once completed, Achaea Energy will have four to 10 employees operate the renewable energy operation. Maintenance workers also will travel to the Murfreesboro area on an annual basis to complete projects at the plant, such as replacing media and overhauling compressors and motors, Boor said.
Classen also has spoken about the renewable natural gas project to the Rutherford County Commission Public Works and Planning Committee.
"You asked for us to incorporate sustainability and green energy projects into our our operations at Middle Point, and we have delivered," Classen told the commissioners.
The renewable natural gas project is the first of many innovative solutions to solid waste that Middle Point Landfill officials are pursuing, Classen said.
In addition to the natural gas project, Middle Point Landfill seeks a permit from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to compost food waste, Classen said.
Another goal is for Middle Point to establish recycling centers and provide recycling education in the schools, he said.
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Landfill expects to remain in business for several years
The renewable natural gas operation can continue for several years even if the existing Middle Point operations fill up the landfill by what Classen estimates will be by the middle of 2028.
Even after closing, Middle Point operators will be required by the state to safely maintain the lined, modern landfill for 50 years, Classen said.
Classen a year ago estimated Middle Point being full by July 2027, but his company extended the landfill life by reducing the acceptance of out-of-county trash by 25%. The reduction meant going from burying about 1.1 million tons of solid waste in 2023 to about 800,000 tons this year.
About 52% of trash dumped in 2021 at Middle Point Landfill came from Davidson County, according to Republic Services, which is a publicly traded solid waste corporation. About 32% came from Rutherford County in 2021.
About 90% of what's buried at Middle Point comes from Davidson and Rutherford counties, Classen said.
"We always have the ability to move waste out of Middle Point and extend the life if we need to just like we did earlier this year in response to some of the requests from the Rutherford County Commission," Classen said.
"That was tough on our business, but it was the right thing to do with an investment to be here in the long term to prove we're a series partner to really listen to what the county is wanting and to react to that and answer that call."
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Middle Point touts odor and street trash clean up efforts
The landfill has responded to odor concerns by spending $11 million over the past three years on a gas collection system. The investment has increased gas collection by 71% through 84 new gas wells and nearly 4,000 linear feet of horizontal collectors. The efforts have reduced odor reports by 98%, according to a press release from landfill spokeswoman Ann Marie Anderson with Hall Strategies.
Classen said Middle Point plans to spend another $1.6 million on gas collection this year.
In addition to odor control, Middle Point has responded to community concerns about trash spilling from garbage trucks with a cleanup team covering 7.5 miles of roads daily six days per week. The landfill is also power washing the Lanny Lane overpass monthly, and sweeping Jefferson Pike and interior roads four times per day, according to the press release.
The landfill offers the Rutherford and Murfreesboro offers both governments free tipping for their solid waste trucks.
Middle Point also provides the county with an annual cut of tipping fees of $1 per ton from out-of-county waste. The county had received about $750,000 in tipping fee revenues in 2021 prior to this year's 25% reduction of out-of-county waste, Rutherford Solid Waste Director Bishop Wagener said.
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Middle Point officials had hoped to expand on Rutherford's adjacent 288-acre property that includes two closed landfills on 82 acres.
County officials, however, decided to reject Middle Point expansion and are building a $20 million solid waste transfer station where Rutherford's trash can be dropped off before being hauled by larger trucks to an out-of-county landfill, County Mayor Joe Carr said.
"We are grateful for Middle Point's recent concerns with reducing the amount of outside county waste going into the landfill and their partnership with renewable energy source," Carr said. "I only wish this had happened years ago instead of a few months ago, but we are none the less grateful."
The county's transfer station also will include a scale house and an office. Tipping fees will be established for commercial haulers, and those revenues will help pay for Rutherford's bond to build the transfer station, said Wagener, the county's solid waste director.
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Murfreesboro has own waste-to-energy plans
Like the county, the Murfreesboro government expects to be spending $15 million to $20 million on a transfer station that will include a warehouse for a proposed waste-to-energy operation by WastAway a company based in Morrison in Warren County, Assistant City Manager Darren Gore said.
"WastAway is in the process of securing the private financing necessary to fund the biomass fuel and renewable natural gas production components for the project," Gore said.
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The WastAway process uses pulleys and magnets to sort out recycling materials such as metals, and then creates a fluff product from the remaining waste than can be sold as fuel-burning product for industry boilers.
Murfreesboro officials such as Gore estimate that 90% of the solid waste processed by WastAway could be diverted from landfilling and 70% converted to a fuel source for industry boilers.
"If the biomass fuel and renewable natural gas components of the project are funded and approved by City Council, there is a 2-year construction period," Gore said. "The end of 2026 or early 2027 would be a good estimate of when this project could potentially start up."
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If WastAway is unable to secure financing, the city would use the planned warehouse for public works equipment and supplies, Gore suggested.
"The city is optimistic that the project will coalesce by securing the private financing and securing the necessary solid waste to optimize the plant’s capacity," Gore said.
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Like the county, the city foresees charging commercial haulers a tipping fee at the transfer station. Gore estimates the fee could be in the $80 per ton range to cover either transferring the solid waste to an out-of-county landfill or processing the dumped material through the WastAway operation.
Murfreesboro residents now paying a monthly trash hauling bill of $9.50 per cart will see that climb to an estimated $25 by 2031, Gore said.
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Middle Point Landfill manager says operation reduces customer costs
Although Murfreesboro and Rutherford officials oppose Middle Point expansion, both governments and their residents and businesses could face high costs to ship solid waste to out-of-county landfills. That approach shifts the burden to another community, "which is the same thing that a lot of folks here don't like about the waste coming in from Davidson County," Classen said.
One of the advantages that Middle Point Landfill offers over the transfer station approach is being able to accept state permitted special waste, such as food sources that the Taylor Farms plant in Smyrna is unable to package and sell or bails of car headliners from Kasai, Classen said.
"Transfer stations are extremely limited in the types of waste they can take," said Classen, noting that Middle Point also accepts special waste from Nissan. "They are not able to take the more complex materials from industry and manufacturing that we in Middle Point can have."
Other large employers sending special waste to Middle Point Landfill include the Nissan car factory in Smyrna, Bridgestone tire factory in La Vergne and the General Mills food packaging plant in Murfreesboro.
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Middle Point used to accept state permitted low level radioactive waste from non dangerous materials about 15 years ago but discontinued this landfill operation in response to public complaints.
"We pride ourselves on being an asset to our customers here in Rutherford County," Classen said. "And those customers aren't just residents. Those are businesses and also industry."
Middle Point Landfill is all about economics through offering local customers "a modern containment facility" that's regulated by the state and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Classen said.
"We're all about keeping costs low for our customers and the people here in Rutherford County, and that's something that only Middle Point Landfill can do," Classen said.
Timeline: A look at Rutherford County's 35-year history with landfill operations
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
Facts about landfill renewable energy project
Location: Middle Point Landfill by East Fork Stones River in north Rutherford County
What does project do: cleans methane gas into a pipeline quality renewable natural gas
Partners in project: Republic Services, the Arizona-based owner of the landfill, and Archaea Energy, a BP company
Cost of project: $70 million
When will renewable energy plant open: early 2025
Estimated number of homes annually that could receive heat from landfill's renewable natural gas: over 80,000
How will renewable natural gas be distributed: through Atmos Energy pipes along nearby U.S. Highway 231
Sources: Mike Classen, general manager of Middle Point Landfill; Ann Marie Anderson, landfill spokeswoman with Hall Strategies; and Steven Boor, a lead developer engineer and interim chief operations officer for Archaea Energy, a BP company
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: BP, Republic services tout landfill renewable natural gas project
