According to its 2011 annual report, Ameresco finances some of its landfill gas projects with variable rate bank loans.
In some markets, some of the time, biomass, geothermal, landfill gas and waste-to-energy can compete on price with carbon-based fuels.
Tidal Energy Ltd is working with renewable energy company Eco2 Ltd which has developed projects in biomass, wind and landfill gas.
As a fuel cell, it also needs fuel to run, in this case natural gas or another source of methane (such as landfill gas or biogas from anaerobic digesters).
FORBES: The Economics of Bloom Energy's 'Breakthrough' Fuel Cell
The technology to be utilized is the Fischer Tropsch process, the same technology to be used to convert landfill gas to airline fuel for British Airways starting in 2014.
FORBES: Sasol's Answer to the Natural Gas Highway: Convert the Fuel
In many countries power from landfill gas or waste-to-energy plants (like the one at Spittelau, outside Vienna, illustrated above) attracts subsidies of one kind or another because it saves emissions.
These hedges effectively convert these variable rate bank loans into fixed rate loans, better matching the interest expense from the loans to the income from the landfill gas projects they finance.
Cities are particularly keen to tackle landfill gas, says Mr Blumenfeld of San Francisco's Department of Environment, because it is one of the few sources of emissions over which they have jurisdiction.
Levels of landfill gas at a site that residents say is so smelly it keeps them up at night do not pose an immediate risk to human health, the Environment Agency (EA) says.
BBC: Dorket Head landfill: Odour 'not a risk to human health'
Clearly, though, the Bloom Box is still not a zero emissions tech and would only cut emissions by roughly 50% relative to the national average, unless it runs on landfill gas or biogas or hydrogen from electrolysis fueled by zero-carbon electricity (which would be much more expensive as you have to add cost of electrolysis unit, higher cost electricity, and about 30% conversion losses in electrolysis).
FORBES: The Economics of Bloom Energy's 'Breakthrough' Fuel Cell
Mumbai, for one, plans to sell such credits when its landfill-gas project at Gorai comes on stream.
Waste-to-energy and landfill-gas projects are likely to benefit most from green pricing, at least at first, because their costs are already close to those of conventional power producers.
Both the VML and Speedway Landfill produced methane gas, but the VML produced a greater quantity of methane gas because of the nature of the materials deposited.
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Chris Wick, from the Environment Agency, said landfill sites generated gas when waste broke down but 2012 had been exceptionally wet and it was believed heavy rain had increased the gas produced.
When materials in a landfill decompose, methane gas is produced.
FORBES: A Dirty Stinking Business And No Charitable Contribution
Sepa said the source of the smell is believed to be a faulty gas extraction system at the West Carron Landfill.
Additionally, because of poor drainage, water ponds formed on the VML. These water ponds produced more methane gas, and the subsequent runoff traveled back into the VML and the Speedway Landfill.
FORBES: A Dirty Stinking Business And No Charitable Contribution
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