By Wade Linville –

Landfill gas at the Rumpke Landfill in Georgetown could soon be powering up to 3000 homes with electricity.
Rumpke Waste and Recycling Services is moving forward with Energy Developments Inc. on an $8 million project that will convert gas produced at the landfill into energy.
Bill Rumpke, Jr., CEO and owner of Rumpke Waste and Recycling Services, along with a number of local public officials, a representative of the Ohio EPA, as well as EDI President and CEO Steve Cowman met at the Rumpke site in Georgetown on Nov. 3 to break ground on the new landfill gas to energy station.
“A long time coming, and we’re glad we are finally here to break ground on the gas-to-energy plant here at our Brown County landfill,” said Bill Rumpke, Jr. “As many of you know, our former vice president for this site – my cousin Todd Rumpke – recently passed away, and it was one of his long-time goals to get this facility built and to do something with the energy that’s being created with our landfill here in Brown County. Rumpke’s mission has always been to protect the health of the general public and the environment.”
The gas-to-energy plant will be a 4.8 mega-watt facility to process more than 2,200 standard cubic feet per minute of landfill gas. The gas will be burned to power three engines that will produce enough energy to power 2,873 homes in locations that include Georgetown, Yellow Springs, and Williamstown in Kentucky.
The project will eliminate 9,562 tons of methane gas per year and 21,087 tones of carbon dioxide per year.
According to Cowman, no state or federal funding will be used for the gas-to-energy project.
“This project here, we are excited to work with Rumpke on,” said Cowman. “It will be an $8 million to $10 million project,” said Cowman. “We 100-percent fund this ourselves.”
Among those speaking at the Nov. 3 ground breaking was Ohio State Representative Doug Green.
“I like it when people do smart things, and this is a smart thing,” Green said of the gas-to-energy project.
Joe Uecker of the Ohio State Senate was also pleased to see the project moving forward as he attended the ground breaking.
“This is already a win, win, win, win, win scenario,” said Uecker.
Also speaking to the crowd during the ground breaking ceremony was U.S. Representative Brad Wenstrup.
“We are very blessed to live in the country we live in and see this type of thing taking place so that people can live in proper health and turn garbage into energy,” said Wenstrup.