In the United States (US), OPAL Fuels Inc., a vertically integrated producer and distributor of renewable natural gas (RNG) has announced the start of commercial operations at its renewable natural gas (RNG) facility at the Polk County municipal landfill in Jones Corner, Florida, marking the company’s eleventh operational RNG project and second facility in the state.
Located between the Orlando and Tampa metro regions along the I-4 corridor, Polk County is the fastest-growing county in Florida (FL). By land, it is larger than the State of Rhode Island (RI) and has a population of over 800,000.
Owned and operated by Polk County’s municipal government, the landfill is now providing landfill gas (LFG) to OPAL’s RNG project which is producing and injecting pipeline-quality RNG.
With a nameplate design capacity of approximately 1.1 million MMBtu or 8.5 million gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) of RNG per year, the product RNG will be primarily used to replace diesel transportation fuel to lower fleet operating costs and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting in a significant impact on public health and the environment.
This reduction is equivalent to achieving zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from over 900 heavy-duty trucks.
Polk County represents our eleventh operational RNG project and our third to commence commercial operations this year. Including Polk County and our recent announcement with GFL at the Sapphire project, we have approximately 8.8 million MMBtu of annual nameplate design capacity in operation, up 5.0 million MMBtu since becoming a public company in 2022. We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made as the largest publicly traded integrated RNG operator in North America. We continue to execute our strategic objectives, moving RNG projects forward from construction into operation while growing our fueling station business and expanding our integrated footprint, said Adam Comora, co-CEO of OPAL Fuels.
The commercial operations of OPAL’s Polk County RNG facility represent a significant step forward for OPAL Fuels’ mission of providing “Cleaner, Cheaper, Now” fuel solutions.
This initiative is crucial in promoting sustainable energy solutions that benefit both the environment and the economy.
Polk County’s partnership with OPAL Fuels demonstrates our commitment to Polk County’s residents. Polk County is leveraging the by-product of waste breakdown and, at the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With the plant OPAL Fuels has constructed, landfill biogas will be turned into renewable natural gas, which can be used for fuel to power waste trucks, and provide energy for homes, and businesses. This is a win-win for taxpayers and the environment, said Polk County Board Chairman Bill Braswell.
Circular economy
The new plant collects LFG that was previously flared and upgrades it into RNG by removing moisture, sulfur, carbon dioxide (CO2), and other impurities.
Polk County’s two waste collection service providers, FCC Environmental and GFL Environmental, power their vehicles using CNG.
This creates an environmentally friendly closed loop. First, landfill trash creates biogas, which Opal Fuels converts into renewable natural gas and then into CNG. FCC and GFL use CNG to fuel the vehicles picking up the county’s garbage. By turning our biogas into CNG, we are helping our service providers avoid using diesel fuel, said Dale Henderson, Director of Polk County’s Solid Waste Division.
