$90 Million Renewable Natural Gas Facility Planned For Landfill

Waste Management has plans to construct two renewable natural gas plants next to one another at their sprawling Falls Township property.

The Falls Township Planning Commission Tuesday evening recommended land development plans for the site across from the Wheelabrator Falls waste-to-energy facility on New Ford Mill Road near Waste Management’s landfills.

The plans call for two 20,0000-square-foot facilities on 18 acres that would collect and convert gases recovered from the landfill operation for energy use.

Attorney Mike Meginniss, who is working on behalf of Waste Management, said the facility will add jobs and eliminate the company’s current practice of burning off gas created by its landfills.

The facility will cost $90 million and aims to be open in 2024.

The proposed facility, which still needs to come before the Falls Township Board of Supervisors, could reduce emissions of carbon dioxide significantly, Meginniss said.

The two plants would capture gases created under the landfills as waste decomposes and pipe them to the renewable natural gas processing equipment. The two plants will convert the collected gases into renewable natural gas that be used for energy creation.

Waste Management officials said the two facilities are part of a company-wide program that will invest $800 million in 17 similar projects across the country.

The renewable natural gas created at the Falls Township site will be routed to a national pipeline and distributed.

Waste Management already runs many of its vehicles on natural gas, but they will not fill up at the site. The site for fueling of Waste Management’s natural gas-burning trucks is in Bristol Township.

The proposed site of the two plants is currently open space, and was once an executive golf course.

Prior to 2020,  Exelon Generation operated the Pennsbury Generating Station that took gases from the landfill operation and used it to power homes.

However, that facility was closed due to “prolonged period of flat electricity demand and historically low electricity prices,”  Exelon Generation, which operates PECO, announced in 2018.

With the closure of the facility, Waste Management installed large flares to burn off the landfill gas emissions, which worried some due to potential negative impacts on air quality and the environment.

Waste Management has operated landfills in Falls Township for decades.

The Fairless Landfill remains in operation, and Waste Management purchased nearby land to expand their operations.

The Tullytown Landfill and GROWS Landfill in the township have both been closed for several years.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to note the Pennsbury Generation Station was operated by Exelon Generation and not PECO. PECO is part of Exelon Generation.

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