Nodal Power, a company that develops and operates landfill gas to energy power plants, announced that it has raised a $13 million seed round to aggressively mitigate methane emissions at landfills.
Nodal Power's technology has the potential to significantly reduce methane emissions from landfills. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is 25 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, which makes it a much more impactful gas to which to focus mitigation. By combusting the methane gas in a generator, Nodal Power reduces carbon emissions compared to flaring or venting and creates beneficial use for an otherwise wasted resource.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that landfills account for approximately 14.3% of fugitive methane emissions in the United States. Recent NASA data suggests that the EPA is underestimating the amount of methane being released into the atmosphere as a result of an outdated approach to measure methane emissions. Reducing any methane emissions as fast as possible can have a large, positive environmental impact.
Nodal Power to build renewable energy power plants at landfills
Landfill Power Project
Much of the funding has already been deployed to build and operate two power plants in the US. Site one, located in the southeast US, exports electricity generated by landfill gas to the local utility. This site is also equipped with a data center, which allows for economic dispatch between the utility and the data center. Site two, located in the mountain west, runs a (first of its kind) fully sustainable off-grid data center powered by landfill gas. Additional funds will be deployed at a third US site early 2024. All three sites produce renewable electricity from methane gas generated by the decomposition of organic waste at landfills.
"We've developed solutions, specifically for smaller landfills, that allow us to bring these overlooked resources to market," said Bryan Black (CEO). "Our technology and energy first approach have the potential to make a significant impact on local energy markets."
