Landfill gas recovery specialist Waga Energy launches Canada’s first renewable gas project

Waga Energy, Enercycle and Énergir are joining forces to launch a renewable natural gas (RNG) injection project at the Saint-Étienne-des-Grés landfill site, the first project of its kind on Canadian soil. The Wagabox technology that will be used for this project allows landfill site operators to recover the gas emanating from these sites in the form RNG, also known as biomethane.

As part of this project near Shawinigan, QC, Waga Energy is committing to purchasing the gas produced by waste products from Enercycle for a twenty-year period. To recover it, Waga Energy will build a treatment unit on the site, using its Wagabox patented technology. Waga Energy will fund the unit’s construction and operation, as well as the costs of connecting the site to the local gas network.

Énergir will purchase RNG production from Waga Energy, thus contributing to achieving the Quebec government’s objective of introducing a 10% share of renewable gas into the network by 2030.

Given that Saint-Étienne-des-Grès is the largest community-managed landfill site in Quebec, Enercycle will become the first North American waste treatment operator to benefit from the Wagabox solution, which combines breakthrough technology and an investor-operator model. This site receives 180,000 tons of waste each year.

The Wagabox unit in Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, which will be built in Quebec by the Canadian subsidiary of Waga Energy and will be operational as of 2022, will be able to treat up to 3,400 cubic meters of gas and produce 468,000 gigajoules of RNG per year, which is the equivalent to the annual consumption of 8,000 Quebec households. Its operationalization will prevent 23,000 tones of CO2e emissions each year.

Michel Angers, president of Enercycle, says “This contract is the result of an initiative undertaken several months ago to identify the best technology to enable us to use our landfill gas to its full potential.

“Thanks to the Wagabox technology, treating our gas is no longer an expense, it is a new income stream, and more importantly, it is yet another step towards a more sustainable approach to landfill management. The project fits perfectly with the government’s greenhouse gas reduction objectives and we are proud to contribute to Quebec’s energy transition.”

An operator is measuring landfill gas composition at an extraction well of the Saint-Étienne-des-Grés landfill. (Courtesy Enercycle)

A European leader in landfill gas recovery in the form of RNG, Waga Energy operates ten Wagabox units in France. They supply close to 35,000 homes with renewable gas thereby preventing 45,000 tons of CO2e emissions each year.

According to Mathieu Lefebvre, president and co-founder of Waga Energy, “Thanks to the Wagabox solution, hundreds of landfill sites across the United States and Canada will be able to produce renewable natural gas, contribute to the energy transition and generate a new revenue stream, without the need for investment or additional operating constraints.”

Renault Lortie, VP, Customers and Gas Supply, at Énergir, adds, “The development of the green gas industry in Quebec is one of the cornerstones of our efforts to decarbonize our economy.

“Énergir aims to inject an ever-increasing amount of renewable gas into its network, corresponding to a volume of at least 10% that of the annual volume it distributes by 2030. This fantastic project brings us a step closer to this objective, demonstrates the value of smart circular economy and allows more and more of our customers to benefit from clean, local energy.”