The Foundation's projects, conferences and business activities inevitably generate CO2 emissions. These are recorded as part of a carbon footprint and offset with the help of a compensation project. For 2023, we are supporting firstclimate's "Electricity from landfill gas, clean energy in Monterrey, Mexico" project by purchasing CO2 certificates.
The Monterrey I LFG to energy project has been in operation since 2003. The plant supplies electricity for the lighting seven communities in the Monterrey area, including the city itself. It also supplies energy to the local electric train for public transport and other government buildings. In order to reach the end consumers, the energy generated is fed into the electricity grid of the state-owned electricity company CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad).
The aim of the project is to maintain, expand and optimise the landfill gas collection system and power generation facilities currently operated by Bionergia de Nuevo Leon S.A. de C.V (BENLESA) in Monterrey I, Mexico. The project includes the installation of landfill gas collection infrastructure (~44 ha) and the construction of a grid-connected, LPG-fuelled power plant. Together with the existing engines at the site, the capacity of the plant is 18 MW. The innovative nature of the project serves as a model for other municipalities wishing to implement similar measures. In this way, the project contributes to Mexico's sustainability goals by generating clean energy and preventing pollution.
Landfill gas consists mainly of methane and CO2 . The methane is formed by the anaerobic decomposition processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable materials under oxygen-free conditions. The higher the proportion of organic material in the waste, the more gas is produced. In countries without systematic waste sorting, waste can contain up to 75% organic material. If the landfill gas is not collected by special extraction devices, it slowly escapes through the cracks and holes into the atmosphere, where it develops its greenhouse potential. When the landfill gas is burnt, the methane content is largely converted into carbon dioxide. The damaging effect of methane is thus reduced by a factor of 21. Feeding the electricity into the grid also ensures an additional reduction in further greenhouse gas emissions by replacing electricity from fossil fuelled power plants.
Further details:
Verification: TÜV Nord CERT GmbH
Certificate Type: CDM (Clean Development Mechanism)
Annual volume: 209.000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents
Partner: First Climate
