The City of Grand Junction, Colo., has jointly invested in a biogas conditioning system and pipeline project that will provide a biogas-based fuel to municipal fleet vehicles, including 30 refuse trucks, dump trucks, pickups, and sedans.

The facility is being built by BioCNG, the inventor of a patent-pending biogas conditioning system that produces biogas-based fuel for CNG vehicles, at a cost of $2.8 million. Mesa County has also invested in the project, which was eligible for a $500,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

The savings in CNG fuel versus diesel fuel are expected to pay off immediately and the cost of the entire project should be paid off in a decade, according to BioCNG.

The project also eliminates burning off methane biogas that is the equivalent of about 146,000 gallons of gasoline a year, and prevents the annual release into the atmosphere of nearly 3 million pounds of carbon dioxide, according to the City of Grand Junction.

The biogas system's pipeline connects to the Persigo wastewater treatment plant in Grand Junction. The project should be completed by April. The city hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 18.