In the late 1990s a landfill near Dillsboro, North Carolina was closed and local residents were faced with a dilemma. The small town in the Smoky Mountains had to decide how they would cope with methane emanating from the landfill. Since the landfill was too small to fall under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency, the decision was entirely their own.

Local officials decided to explore the growing movement in Western North Carolina to use methane from landfills as an energy source. In order to take advantage of this opportunity a pipeline from the landfill would have to be linked to neighboring businesses, a cost that would be significant and therefore negate the money that would be saved by using methane.

Knowing that the area had a thriving arts community and was a popular tourist stop—particularly for residents of the Atlanta area three hours to the south—officials decided to build artisan studios on the site and use extracted methane to heat it.

It was around this time that Muth, a former engineer who owned a bike shop in the area, was brought on as a consultant. It was then that Muth and other officials learned that one of the risks of being on the cutting edge is that there are very few experts on what you are trying to do. Fortunately, there was a similar project already underway about an hour and a half to the north in Burnsville.
Once the necessary expertise was acquired, holes were drilled and perforated pipe was installed. A three foot layer of clay covered the landfill and facilities for artists were built. The space was soon rented out to glass blowers, potters and black and metal smiths. To the uninformed, the property, which was opened in the fall of 2006, looks like any other artist’s studio.

At its peak, the system provides 40 cubic feet of gas per minute with a five horsepower engine. This translates to 1.2 million BTUs or roughly the same amount of heat being produced from 20 residential heaters.

When a group of third-graders came to visit the Jackson County Green Energy Park (JCGOP) recently, one of the children asked JCGEP Director Timm Muth “Why don’t more people do this?”
“This” is one of the best examples of turning lemons into lemonade that you will find.

The benefit to the environment? Over the course of a year the JCGEP saves the equivalent of over 11,000 barrels of oil. The money saved pays for the administrative costs of the system.
Muth, who is now full time, tracks the system with a monitor that measures temperature and pressure. Since it is basically a biological system it is in constant change according to Muth. “Our challenge is in understanding how to manipulate our control variables to maximize our BTU output without sacrificing the health of the landfill.”

Over the longer term, JCGEP will have to adapt, since the life of methane from landfill sites is about 15 years. Local citizens will eventually be able to convert household waste into the organic materials that create methane, thanks to a system that will speed up the conversion process.

So, to go back to the third-grader’s question, why don’t more people do this? The biggest reason is the lack of expertise. Muth is doing what he can to change that, having hosted visitors from 12 states and India, Ukraine and Brazil, all of whom are interested in learning more about the system at JCGEP.

But there is also the matter of willingness. Muth says, “Small communities like ours have to take the lead on these opportunities. It’s good from an investment standpoint because it saves money and creates jobs. It’s a potential gold mine.”