From Landfill Gas to Renewable Natural Gas – Waga Energy’s First RNG Unit in Canada
Author: Javier Rodriguez, Business Development Coordinator for Waga Energy Canada
In February 2021, Michel Angers, President of Enercycle and mayor of Shawinigan in Quebec, Canada, announced the commencement of a renewable natural gas (RNG) project between Waga Energy and Enercycle. Thanks to Waga Energy’s landfill gas upgrading technology, Enercycle can now convert landfill gas into renewable natural gas, supporting the local community with an opportunity for energy independence.
The WAGABOX® technology is designed to maximize the value of landfill gas and to support the energy transition. The WAGABOX® technology upgrades landfill gas to renewable natural gas in a unique way: by pairing cryogenic distillation with membrane filtration. Waga Energy creates new opportunities for landfill gas recovery that combines energy generation, environmental compliance, and economic benefits for the landfill.
Enercycle and Waga Energy built a trustworthy relationship throughout the two years of negotiation prior to contract signing for the WAGABOX® unit at Saint-Étienne-des-Grès. After multiple meetings, conversations, and visits to Waga Energy’s operational WAGABOX® units in France, Michel Angers and Enercycle decided to partner with Waga Energy to develop a WAGABOX® unit at their landfill. The St-Étienne landfill was already familiar with renewable natural gas projects. Enercycle's previous biogas (landfill gas) valorization project involved powering greenhouses on-site with biogas, but the treatment process proved to be costly and restrictive for the landfill. After 10 years of operation, a significant upgrade of the equipment was necessary, which would have resulted in significant costs for Enercycle. Because of this, Enercycle wanted to find a partner that was economically and environmentally feasible for their specific needs. A key driver for Enercycle was the better environmental usage of biogas for the community.
Waga Energy had to demonstrate its adaptability during this project. Being the first project in North America for the company, everything was new. Legislation, regulations, the environment, and even this specific WAGABOX® unit differed from the company's traditional projects. A standard WAGABOX® unit typically needs a container to host part of the WAGABOX® technology. In the case of the Saint-Étienne-des-Grès WAGABOX® unit, the technology was integrated into an existing building. Designing a new pipe layout, ventilation, and a new process layout inside the existing spaces of the building posed a situation that Waga Energy has not yet encountered. This involved ensuring optimal access for operations and maintenance, while being able to fit the equipment needed inside the building. Ergonomic and safe access to the equipment is essential for safe operations. Additionally, the WAGABOX® unit of Saint-Étienne-des-Grès was the first WAGABOX® unit to have the capacity of processing over 3 400 Nm3/h (2000 scfm), with an installed capacity of 468,000 GJ (443,578 mmBtu or 130 GWh/year), making it the largest unit produced by the company to date.
Politics, regulations, and other macro-environmental aspects can have a significant impact on the development of a project, and on many occasions, they can put an end to great projects. Waga Energy’s team did an exceptional job facing challenges such as COVID-19, astronomical increases in the cost of equipment and materials, and unplanned delays in permits. The WAGABOX® unit of Saint-Étienne-des-Grès was planned to start producing renewable natural gas in August 2022, but it took almost one additional year before the first volumes of renewable natural gas were produced and delivered to Energir. Work on-site started in October 2021 and stopped in early April of the following year due to external factors such as permitting delays. This nine-month delay pushed the injection date, and work on the construction site resumed in early September of 2022.
The Canadian winter is no joke! Some equipment had to be adapted to the cold environment. Elements like heat tracing, ventilation, air conditioning, access for machines, access to roads, and snow removal had to be modified to ensure the optimal operation of the WAGABOX® unit. Not only did the facility have to be adapted for cold winters, but the team also faced challenges with the Canadian winter itself. Let's just say they discovered what a real winter is.
One of the best anecdotes the team has about winter occurred during the commissioning on a snowy winter day. Jean-Marie Perrier, Electrical and Instrumentation Manager, parked his car right in front of Waga's trailer. It snowed all day, and he could never leave. Of course, the team had a shovel to clear the snow around the car, but it was only a small plastic snow shovel kindly lent by Cedric Le Bars, the new Projects Manager. Unfortunately, this shovel wasn't the best for big snowy days and broke after two shoveling attempts. Nicolas Noel, Product Director, tried pushing Jean-Marie's car with his small SUV, but it didn't work. They had to wait for a truck to pass by so that they could tow Jean-Marie. But don't worry! After some months, the team fully adapted to extremely cold temperatures. During the commissioning, the team had to fill the glycol water system. This operation was scheduled for Thursday. However, for the upcoming weekend, a temperature of -35°C was forecasted, which is the freezing point of glycol water. Julie Flynn, CEO of Waga Energy Canada, asked the team on-site to postpone the task. Interestingly, during that same weekend, some members went to an outdoor festival in Montreal called the Igloo Fest. You can call that human adaptation!
Finally, this WAGABOX® unit started commissioning in May 2023. The WAGABOX® unit of Saint-Étienne-des-Grès produces enough energy to supply around 8,000 Quebec households per year. The RNG produced is directly injected into the Énergir gas distribution pipeline and will avoid the emission of 21,500 tons of eqCO2 per year (according to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator) by reducing the use of fossil natural gas. Waga Energy and Enercycle currently have a partnership agreement for a 20-year term.
Waga Energy now has 18 WAGABOX® units in operation worldwide, 17 under construction worldwide including six under construction in North America. The WAGABOX® unit of Saint-Étienne-des-Grès is a unique and rewarding project for Waga Energy, Enercycle, and the community of Saint-Étienne-des-Grès.
For more information, please visit our website at www.waga-energy.com.