Pre-feasibility study of landfill biogas for electricity in Colombia

Abstract

A technical and financial pre-feasibility study of an energy from waste project in Colombia is presented. The current situation in Colombia, the technologies available, and the tools for the simulation are described. A case study based on transforming an existing landfill to allow the collection of the landfill gas to generate electricity for sale to the grid as well as to nearby industry is presented. Two special variations of the case study are also presented to demonstrate the effect of Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) and Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) incentives. Results demonstrate the importance of a sound FIT policy and the potential advantage of gaining CDM credits in the financial viability of the project. The project additionally may contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions.