CLP Power to tap methane from Tuen Mun landfill for electricity
The company is awaiting an environmental approval for its plan to build generators on the site; project will cost “more than HK$100 million”
The larger of the city’s two electricity providers will seek approval for the installation of 14-megawatt electricity generating units powered by gas at a Tuen Mun landfill to expand its portfolio of “renewable” energy projects.
CLP Power managing director Paul Poon Wai-yin said the large amounts of flammable gases such as methane, produced from the decomposition of municipal waste, could be tapped for power.
About 7,300 tonnes of such waste is dumped in the landfill at the tip of Nim Wan daily.
Poon said the waste-to-energy conversion was a better source of renewable energy than solar or wind, which required massive amounts of land and investment, adding: “On one hand it will help reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions from landfills, and on the other, help replace the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity.”
Quince Chong Wai-yan, head of corporate development, said the new facility – estimated to cost “more than HK$100 million” – would have a minimal impact on tariffs due to its limited scale.
The project’s first phase comprises five units capable of generating enough electricity to power 17,000 four-person households for one year. A second phase will add two more units to the site.