Highland Council To Test Gas At Seater Landfill Site For Possible
Energy Production  Don't
Worry If You See Burning At Seater Next Week As Gas Is Flared OffIt may be born out of necessity to comply with regulations but Highland Council is taking a bold step in looking at the possibility of creating energy from gas that is created within the Seater landfill site. The Highland Councils Pollution Prevention Control Permit for operating the site requires that a gas management and flaring system is installed. Failure to comply with this condition will be a breach of the licence to operate the site. Instead of merely burning off the gas it might be possible to use it to generate a small amount of power. Highland Council are currently going through the procurement process for the provision of the landfill gas management system which will include the utilisation of the gas to generate power (if there is sufficient gas being generated within the landfill site to make this a viable option). A flare stack will be required whether or not utilisation of the gas to produce power is possible. A temporary stack has been erected to allow the site to continue operating until the completion of the gas management procurement exercise. The final location of the stack will not be where the temporary stack is located but will be beside the leachate treatment tank which is in a much less prominent position and will be screened from most of the surrounding area. The installation of the permanent gas management system, including the flare will be the subject of a planning application. It is proposed to ignite the flares next week (6th August 2007) and the flame will be visible to the surrounding areas and the public should not be concerned if they see the flare burning. If gas is found within the site in sufficient quantities further work will be required to generate power and install appropriate equipment. |