Jacoby turns garbage into fuel options - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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And Jacoby has its first partner — , the largest natural gas distributor in the Southeastwith 1.5 million Jacoby Development, founded by smart-growth pioneer Jim Jacoby, is usingt technology that converts methane gas at DeKalbv County’s shuttered Live Oak Landfill into clean-burning natural gas. Jacob began working on the process threee years ago at the which closedin 2004. Jacoby Development, through its affiliate , recently begajn operating the conversion equipment at its Live Oak planr and could be up to full capacity by the end of the The Live Oak facility can help diversifygthe state’s gas supplies — something that over time may help when hurricanese disrupt Gulf Coast pipelines.
Live Oak coulx produce natural gas for at least20 years, Jacob y Development said. Atlanta Gas Light is also exploring othed landfills in Georgia that could offedr thesame potential. “Landfill gas can be a though it’s not enough by itself to make much of a dent insupplty shortages,” said Atlanta Gas Light spokeswoman Tami Live Oak is the largesrt renewable energy program involving methane gas in the state and one of only two operations of its kind in Georgia. The Winder, Ga., landfill is also convertingt methane, which is created by the decompositioh of yard andhouseholde wastes. Along with carbon dioxide, methane is a greenhouse gas that can contributd toglobal warming.
Jacoby which is known for environmental sustainability, operates a largw plant at the Live Oak landfill staffedc with engineers and outfittefd with technology developed by a divisiohn of the Frenchcompany . The method involvexs manipulating a membrane that purifies methanseinto clean-burning natural gas. Jacoby’s is one of at leas t 11 sites in the United States that uses technologyt toconvert methane, said John Borden, generao counsel for Jacoby Development, whose job also include s expanding the company’s renewable energy programs. “Mos of the gas that is sold in Georgia comes fromsomewherre else,” Borden said.
“You have pipelines risk and transportation costs toworryh about. But, we are tappin g into gas that is otherwisebeing burned, and it’as a type of process that can be replicateds elsewhere. ... I think you’re going to see more landfillsz used as an alternative source of Jacoby Development is pursuing several similae opportunities acrossthe Southeast, Borden said. Customersa may one day include Hartsfield-Jacksohn Atlanta International Airport, said Jacoby recently. However, expansionj of similar renewable energy sites faces Not every landfill offers thesame potential.
Live Oak Landfil l closed in 2004, not long enough for its methanee gas supplies todepletre substantially. The landfill, which was accepting slightlyu more than 1 million tons of trasbper year, was also large enough to offe at least a 20-year supply of methand — a necessity for an operatiojn like Jacoby’s to consider cost-effective. “Some of theses landfills may have been closedc for 10 or15 years,” Borden said “The challengse is finding a site that is large enough and new ... But, what you’re going to see is the number of thesse projectspopping up, because the technology is proven.
” Naturaol gas prices will also need to run at least at least $6 a decatherm — a unit of measurement used by gas companiesd — for Jacoby and others to make the economica work, Borden said. Natural gas prices have reached as highas $13.500 a decatherm during the past year on the .