The City of Longmont, Colo., will begin construction on a project to convert sewage treatment gas to renewable natural gas (RNG) to fuel the city’s fleet of trash trucks. The city will purchase new biogas cleaning equipment for the Waste Water Treatment Plant and fueling infrastructure. The project will be partially funded by a $1 million grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

Once the RNG fueling station is completed in 2019, 11 of the city’s 16 diesel-powered trash trucks will be replaced with trucks capable of using RNG. Trucks will be replaced according to the city’s existing replacement schedule, and the remaining five diesel trucks will be replaced in 2021. The Colorado Regional Air Quality Council awarded the city a grant for $35,000 per truck ($385,000 total) to cover 80% of the difference in cost between an RNG truck and a diesel truck.

When the project is complete, the city estimates that it will offset over 60,000 gallons of fossil fuels annually, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 800 metric tons of CO2-equivalents per year. The project will also eliminate the variability in fuel costs for trash services and provide a revenue stream to find future Waste Water Treatment Plant projects through the sale of federal renewable fuel credits.