Phoenix, AZ-based solid waste operator Republic Services Inc. has signed a deal with a unit of California-based Clean Fuels Energy Corp. to take some of the renewable natural gas produced at a Tennessee landfill and use it as vehicle fuel in Republic’s expanding natural gas-powered fleet.

The agreement with Clean Energy Renewable Fuels (CERF), a unit of Clean Energy, is the second for Republic. It earlier inked a contract for the Sauk Trails Landfill in Canton, MI, which is slated to come online next month.

In each case, the agreements involve CERF building high-BTU plants to process landfill gas and inject it into the U.S. natural gas distribution network. The gas can then be compressed and applied to a variety of uses, including vehicle transportation in natural gas vehicles and renewable electric power for industry.

The latest agreement is for CERF to recover and convert landfill gas in North Shelby Landfill in Millington, TN, for multiple uses. In the first year of operation, a typical plant is expected to produce about 4 million diesel gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas fuel annually, Clean Energy said. It could fuel 260 trucks for a year. Production is expected to grow to more than 5.7 million diesel gallon equivalents annually during the first 10 years of operation. Startup of the Tennessee plant is expected late next year.

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