October 28, 2022. Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant joined Will County Board Speaker Mimi Cowan and members at a ribbon cutting on Friday to celebrate the county’s new renewable natural gas (RNG) plant in Wilmington. The plant will capture and repurpose methane gas emitted from the county-owned Prairie View Landfill, providing a significant source of non-tax revenue for Will County and a carbon-neutral alternative to conventional natural gas.
“This forward-thinking initiative will help fuel the clean energy revolution in Illinois,” said County Executive Bertino-Tarrant. “This self-sustaining project will provide significant environmental and financial benefits well into the future. The RNG plant is a major accomplishment for our county and I’m thankful for the strong collaboration that made this project a reality.”
The RNG Plant project began with a vision to maximize the financial benefits of Will County’s ownership of Prairie View Landfill. The self-sustaining plant is projected to raise millions of dollars for Will County capital projects through both the sale of gas and credits paid for by fossil fuel providers.
The renewable natural gas produced at the plant will be sold on the open market as an alternative fuel source for large-scale transportation vehicles. As a transportation fuel for energy-efficient vehicles, the gas sold from the RNG plant will power the equivalent of 150 million miles traveled annually.
Only the second of its kind in Illinois and the first in the Chicagoland region, the RNG plant joins a nationwide trend to utilize landfill waste as a clean energy power source.
“RNG is primarily used as compressed natural gas (CNG) as a vehicle fuel, reducing carbon dioxide and other air emissions from trucks, buses, and cars. RNG plants also significantly reduce air emissions at landfills hosting the RNG plants”, said SCS Energy Project Director Jeff Peirce.