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May 20, 2013 <br />The flare and treatment system package were installed staring in October 2011 and commissioning of the <br />system started in December. The flare station included the components necessary to simply collect and <br />flare the gas at the landfill, and also allowed for the eventual connection to an offsite generator. In <br />January 2012 the system was started up and has been online since. <br />Phase 2 — Transmission Line and Generator <br />Phase 2 of the project involved the construction of the main transmission line from the flare station <br />located at the Orange County Landfill to a generator located at UNC's Carolina North. The 1,000 - <br />kilowatt generator shipped from Austria started turning greenhouse gas into electricity to sell back to the <br />electrical grid, and waste heat will be captured for use by the University to heat some of the initial <br />buildings to be constructed at Carolina North. <br />Installation of the piping from the landfill to the generator took place during most of calendar year 2012. <br />The gas line takes a route that crosses County owned land, University owned land and other utility right <br />of ways. The installation of the transmission line was not easy as it involved working close to existing <br />utility corridors, and a major boring operation to install the line under a stream located within the first two <br />hundred feet outside of the flare station. <br />Commissioning of the generator started on January 29, 2013. On April 10, 2013 the entire project was <br />accepted by the State Construction Office. UNC put the generator into commercial production on April <br />22, 2013. <br />Phase 3 — Landfill Closure <br />Within the next couple weeks, construction will start for installing the remaining gas wells and <br />conveyance piping that will capture gas from the center of the south landfill. These wells were not <br />installed previously due to the filling operations of the landfill. However, the landfill is scheduled to <br />close at the end of June which will open the center areas for gas collection. These new wells should <br />increase the gas supply to the system. <br />The landfill cap will also aid in the collection of the gas. In theory, the cap will eliminate the escape of <br />the gas through the top of the landfill, thus providing a greater percentage of the generated gas to the <br />collection system. <br />Economic Impacts <br />During fiscal year 2012 -2013 from July through April, the County has received $33,394.88 in payments <br />from UNC for the gas that has been collected and destroyed. The majority of these payments are based <br />upon the gas being sent to the ofsite flare station. Going forward, the majority of the gas should be sent <br />to a generator where it will be destroyed in an economically beneficial manner. Payments to the County <br />will be based upon the agreement made at the onset of the project, and those payments increase for the <br />gas used to generate electricity. The FY 2013/14 Solid Waste Budget estimates $110,000 in revenue for <br />the upcoming year. <br />Environmental Impacts <br />The first project completed at Carolina North is meant to be a model of sustainability. The University <br />will receive carbon credits for reducing pollution. The total emissions reduction as a result of the project <br />is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 8,000 passenger vehicles. The carbon credits <br />will help the University honor the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment to <br />