First-of-its-kind renewable natural gas plant opens in southern Indiana - WLKY Louisville

First-of-its-kind renewable natural gas plant opens in Medora

First-of-its-kind renewable natural gas plant opens in southern Indiana

A first-of-its-kind renewable natural gas plant in southern Indiana is taking garbage and turning it into energy.

BP's Archaea Energy cut the ribbon on the brand-new facility in Medora on Wednesday afternoon.

It's the only plant like it in the country, and you can find it on South County Road in Jackson County. It's right next to a landfill owned by Rumpke Waste and Recycling.

As area president Jeff Rumpke explains, the trash thrown away on a daily basis that ends up at the landfill decomposes over time and emits a form of greenhouse gas.

The renewable energy plant captures the landfill emissions and converts them into clean, recyclable natural gas. From there, that natural gas can be used to power homes, businesses, and transportation.

"This is a green energy. It's a renewable energy," Rumpke told WLKY. "It's gas that would otherwise be flared off and destroyed, but now we're collecting it and putting it back for a useful purpose."

Archaea Energy's CEO Starlee Sykes said the Medora plant alone can produce enough gas to heat more than 13,000 homes per year from southern Indiana to greater Louisville.

"The benefit is that you know you're replacing fossil fuel gas with renewable natural gas," Sykes said. "So it's providing the same source for much-needed energy, but doing it in a much, kinda cleaner and more effective way that will hopefully be a positive impact on communities."

Sykes went on to say the plant will provide cleaner air, less odor, and more sustainable energy across Kentuckiana.

While it's the first of its kind in the United States, it won't be the last. Archaea Energy said the groundbreaking plant will serve as a model to build even more of them.

"We're gonna bring all those plants online across the U.S. and hopefully do some good while producing the energy that communities need now and in the future," Sykes said.

According to the company, opening the new plant is a powerful step toward BP's goal of becoming a net zero company by 2050.