Scott Co. landfill plans to convert waste into natural gas

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - New technology from French-based company, WAGA Energy, will be installed at the Scott Area landfill just outside of Davenport to convert raw methane from waste into grid-compliant natural gas.

A series of wells and tubes are currently collecting methane from underneath the landfill site today. The Linwood Mining and Minerals company hold the rights to this methane but have not been using it since 2018, letting it burn off.

WAGA Energy reached out to the Waste Commission of Scott County to offer an installation of their new technology, WAGA Box. The device essentially cleans the raw methane produced at the landfill and reinjects into a local natural gas pipeline for further distribution. The gas will then be available for homes and businesses as a clean and renewable energy.

Brian Seals is the Landfill Operations Manager for the Waste Commission and helped negotiate a deal between the three parties, Linwood, WAGA and the landfill.

“They’re committing to being in our community,” said Seals, “we’ve signed a 30 year agreement with them to be here and so they’re committed to be here and to beneficially use our our methane for the next thirty years.”

WAGA will be investing millions of dollars into the project so taxpayer dollars will not be used for the project. Revenue will be shared between Linwood and the Waste Commission. WAGA will earn proceeds from selling the gas to third-party distributors.

Visit their website to here to learn more.

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