The city of Glasgow is joining forces with regional power providers to make better economic and environmental use of methane emitted from local landfills.
Following a vote this week by the Glasgow City Council, mayor Rhonda Riherd Trautman can now open negotiations with Farmers Rural Electric Cooperative and East Kentucky Power Cooperative to create a landfill gas generation project.
Currently, methane emitted from garbage at local landfills is vented into the atmosphere. Under the new plan, methane would be piped into a generator and converted into electricity.
Trautman says the city is trying to act in advance of new federal regulations regarding methane that go into effect in 2016.
"So we feel like, by doing this ahead of time, we're getting ourselves in compliance, and we're making use of a natural resource that is currently not being used," said the Glasgow mayor.
Trautman says East Kentucky Power is operating multiple landfill gas generation projects throughout the state, including one in Hardin County.
