Green gas: Director of Environmental Protection Rob Law and Far East Landfill Technologies Managing Director James Tam at the signing ceremony.

The Environmental Protection Department has signed a supplemental agreement on the treatment and delivery of landfill gas generated by the North East New Territories Landfill in Ta Kwu Ling for off-site use.

Under the agreement, the landfill contractor, Far East Landfill Technologies, will treat the gas and convey it to HK & China Gas Company's production plant in Tai Po as an alternative heating fuel for the production of Towngas.

The project is one of the greatest off-site landfill gas utilisation projects in the world. At present, some of the gas is used to generate electricity for on-site facilities and some is used as a direct heating fuel in the landfill's leachate treatment plant.

Surplus raw landfill gas is flared off for safety and environmental reasons.

A win-win project

Under the agreement, the surplus gas will be delivered to the plant to partially replace naphtha as a heating fuel.

This off-site utilisation of landfill gas as an energy replacement will help conserve fossil fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The off-site delivery of treated landfill gas is expected to start in early 2006 for an estimated period of 25 years.

The project comprises the construction and operation of a gas-treatment plant at the landfill to treat raw gas to specific standards before it is conveyed to the plant via a 19-kilometre pipeline.

Far East Landfill Technologies will invest $80 million in the plant and HK & China Gas will invest $150 million in the pipeline.