Renewable Natural Gas Plant turns trash to treasure in Wilmington

WILL COUNTY EXECUTIVE Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (center) cuts the ribbon at the county’s new Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Plant in Wilmington on Friday, Oct. 21. The plant is expected to generate $14.5 million in revenue for Will County. Photo by Marney Simon.

By: 
Marney Simon
Editor

Will County is taking out the trash in Wilmington.

On Oct. 21, county officials, local dignitaries, and representatives from SCS Energy Project held a ribbon cutting for the county’s Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Plant in Wilmington, a 20,000 square foot facility sitting along 1.5 acres of the county-owned Prairie View Landfill at Arsenal Road.

The plant—the second of its kind in Illinois and the first in the Chicagoland region—will capture and repurpose methane gas emitted from the landfill, turning that waste into non-tax revenue for the county and creating a carbon-neutral alternative to conventional natural gas.

The self-sustaining plant is projected to generate $14.5 million in revenue for Will County capital projects through both the sale of gas and credits paid for by fossil fuel providers. In simple terms, the plant will essentially pull methane has out of the landfill, clean it, compress it, remove the moisture, remove volatile compounds—things that end up in the landfill but shouldn’t such as paint solvents or chemicals from some batteries—then send that gas back into the pipeline.

While the technical aspects are far more complicated than a simple explanation, the end result is that the gas that exits the facility will be roughly 96% methane, versus 50% from when it was pulled in.

The RNG plant will replace the process of burning the methane in a flare to dispose of it, and instead turn it into natural gas that can be sold and distributed externally. The renewable natural gas produced at the plant will be sold on the open market as an alternative fuel source for large-scale transportation vehicles.

Officials said that gas sold from the RNG plant will power the equivalent of 150 million miles traveled annually.

“This forward-thinking initiative will help fuel the clean energy revolution in Illinois,” said County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant. “This self-sustaining project will provide significant environmental and financial benefits well into the future.”

County officials noted that the project also represented a strong commitment to investing county resources toward local projects. A Project Labor Agreement in 2021 coordinated the construction of the plant, the vast majority of which was completed with local labor. According to the county, 96% of the work, which began in June 2021, was performed by local companies. That means the project was able to not only support local businesses, but the labor that built the plant also made a difference here at home.

“Having a $60 million project here in Wilmington, you don’t see this every day,” Will County Board Dist. 6 Rep. Joe VanDuyne (D-Wilmington) said. “To bring such an important project to the southern part of the county that’s revenue generating is amazing. But, most importantly, we hired prevailing wage workers, high paying jobs. Almost 50% of the union labor that participated in this project was also from Will County. They turn around and use their paychecks and support our local economy. I can’t be more happy for the city of Wilmington.”

“Construction of the RNG plant was a significant investment into our local businesses,” added Bertino-Tarrant. “Will County capital projects are successful because of the strong pool of trained local labor.” The project was overseen by SCS Energy.

Project Manager Darren Nightingale said the plant also has the potential to grow.

“It’s designed such that it can be expanded with minimal effort,” Nightingale explained. “So, there’s a lot of potential for this plant... It’s definitely the wave of the future. Renewable natural gas has many advantages, flexibility, it’s versatile, its a big part of the future of energy. Economically, it’s a good option. It’s clean for the environment. Very high quality natural gas, and it’s easy to store.”

The plant will be able to handle a flow rate of 4,500 standard cubic feet per minute (SCFM), but with the ability to expand to 6,900 SCFM.

Once operational, the facility will employ three full-time operators. Nightingale said the plant will be operational for a minimum of 20 to 30 years, but essentially there is no end date. As long as the landfill continues to take on trash, the RNG plant will be able to convert the methane from the landfill into useable natural gas. Once the landfill is closed, the plant will still be able to tap into that waste for another two decades.

The plant is expected to officially go online by mid-November.