University campus 'powered by landfill gas'

A project to power the University of New Hampshire's (UNH's) Durham campus using gas generated from landfill sites has now been completed.

According to the Boston Herald, the scheme has taken four years to put in place and uses methane gas to produce heat and electricity.

"The methane travels 12.7 miles underground from a processing plant at the Turnkey Landfill in Rochester to the campus. It ends up inside UNH's co-generation plant, replacing natural gas," the news source stated.

Once closed, a landfill site can continue to produce gas for up to 30 years.

Discussing the project in 2007, UNH president Mark Huddleston said it is the first university in the country to undertake a scheme of this magnitude.

"By reducing the university's dependence on fossil fuels and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, EcoLine is an environmentally and fiscally responsible initiative," he explained.

The pipe is said to stretch around 12.7 miles underground, linking the university with Waste Management's landfill site in Rochester.