“Made by poo,” is the slogan written on several of the city of Longmont’s fleet of Renewable Natural Gas, of RNG, vehicles. Last week, the city received an award for its groundbreaking venture into converting biogas into RNG.
“Biogas is an energy-rich by-product of a wastewater treatment plant’s anaerobic digestion process that, without proper infrastructure or a reuse plan that captures its benefits, utilities often waste. However, a proper treatment system can convert this valuable resource into RNG, which can then be compressed into compressed natural gas (CNG) that serves as a clean, local, and reliable source of low-cost renewable fuel,” according to a news release from Carollo Engineers — a sustainability-minded company who develops robust water management strategies.
In March of 2020, the city of Longmont brought the RNG project along with a CNG vehicle fueling station online. It has replaced 11 trash trucks with CNG vehicles. This transition has offset the city’s use of nearly 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year saving $300,000 in fuel costs. Additionally, the project has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 1,000 metric tons, according to the news release.
By 2024, the city plans to replace the remaining 10 trash trucks with CNG vehicles.
“The success of this project is due in large part to the WWTP (city of Longmont City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant) and Waste Services and Fleet divisions’ tremendous interdepartmental coordination,” said Carollo’s Becky Luna, the project’s design manager. “Working together, the team developed a win-win solution that reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the community and provides a source of revenue to the City. Carollo is extremely proud to be a part of this award-winning project.”
On Oct. 19, John Gage, city of Longmont senior civil engineer accepted the Water Environment Federation’s, or WEF, 2021 WEF Project Excellence Award for the biogas project. The award is given projects “executed with excellence and infrastructural innovation in the water sector,” the news release stated.
“It was an honor to receive this award on behalf of the City,” said Gage, who served as project manager. “This project is a prime example of how municipalities can take a holistic view of their resources and services to develop innovative solutions.”
