The Steuben County landfill is the first in the USA to adopt WAGABOX® technology. The unit, commissioned on March 15th, will inject up to 207,000 MMBtu (60 GWh) per year of biomethane into Corning Natural Gas Corporation’s distribution network, this represents the equivalent to the consumption of 4,000 households. The implementation of this technology will avoid the emission of 13,500 tons of eqCO2 per year1.
Steuben County is home to almost 99,000 inhabitants, and its landfill processes up to 280,000 tons of waste a year. In July 2020, the county launched a request for proposal for a project to upgrade the landfill gas previously flared. Following this RFP, Waga Energy began the development of a WAGABOX® unit, which is now fully completed.
Waga Energy will operate and maintain the WAGABOX® unit under a 20-year biogas purchase agreement with Steuben County. The equipment was built in North America, with the exception of the cryogenic distillation module, which was imported from France.
1 Estimate based EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator: https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator.
“We are excited to partner with Waga Energy to develop this renewable natural gas project. This is a wonderful example of a Public-Private endeavor that provides significant environmental benefits to the citizens of Steuben County.”
Christopher Brewer, Deputy County Manager of Steuben County.
“The commissioning of the WAGABOX® unit at the Steuben County Landfill is a major milestone in the deployment of our solution in the United States, and a further step towards decarbonization. As the first commissioning unit in the United States, we are appreciative of Steuben County’s trust in Waga Energy to be selected for this project. We commend Steuben County for being innovative, and the first county in the United States to adopt our breakthrough technology.”
Guénaël Prince, CEO of Waga Energy Inc. (USA).
“Our company is pleased to accept renewable natural gas into our distribution system and partner with Waga Energy and Steuben County on this project. Without innovative energy projects like these, landfill gas would otherwise be wasted or vented to the atmosphere. Corning is very excited to do our part in moving towards reducing our carbon footprint and a more sustainable future.”
Mike German, CEO of Corning Natural Gas.