INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — Taking trash out of the landfill, and turning it into treasure.
That’s the plan behind a public-private partnership in Indian River County to build the Treasure Coast's first landfill gas to renewable energy production facility.
County leaders broke ground with Nopetro Energy Wednesday morning at the Indian River County Landfill located off Oslo Road.
"It's a sustainability project, it's an economic project and it's an environmental project," Susan Adams, Indian River County commission chairwoman, said.
The renewable natural gas plant is designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and lead to cleaner air.
"Capturing flared landfill gas, processing it, cleaning it and turning it into pipeline quality natural gas and injecting into the region's pipeline system,” Nopetro CEO Jorge Herrera said.
The plant should be complete in about a year and produce about 3 million gallons of renewable natural gas annually.
That's about 80% of the natural gas that Indian River County uses each year.