Methane generated by solid waste dumped at Kern's Bena Landfill east of Bakersfield will be collected and refined for sale to the University of California, with some of the revenue going to the county.
Philadelphia-based Waga Energy announced Thursday it was selected by the county Board of Supervisors Tuesday to build, own, operate and maintain the processing facility, which is designed to process 3,000 standard cubic feet per minute of renewable natural gas. That's more than 160 gigawatt-hours of RNG per year.
"This agreement supports advancing environmental stewardship at our Bena Landfill while creating value for our community," Kern County Public Works Assistant Director Lisa Shreder said in Waga's release.
The RNG will be sold to the university system under a 20-year agreement, the release noted. It said the project is scheduled to be commissioned for a start of operation sometime in 2027.
Waga Energy will pay the county an upfront royalty of $2.5 million upon the county board's signature on the project agreement, reported Alicia Gutierrez, marketing and promotions coordinator for Kern County Public Works. The company will then have to pay the county another $2.5 million when the plant opens.
After that, the county will receive 5% of the project's revenues up to $8 million per year. If the annual revenues exceed that amount, the county gets 20% — unless the sum reaches $12 million, at which point the county's take rises to 40%, Gutierrez noted.
The project is projected to offset about 30,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide, which Waga estimates is about the emissions generated by heating 12,000 homes per year.
This is the company's third RNG project in California following 15 years spent developing its patented Wagabox technology combining membrane filtration with cryogenic distillation, according to Thursday's release.
"We are thrilled to develop a third Wagabox unit in California, a state with a strong decarbonization ambition, and with immense potential for our solution," it added.