Landfill Gas Extraction and Electricity Generation Project

Istanbul, home for its 14.1 million residents, is the largest city in Turkey and one of the largest in the world. Since 1995, all the municipal waste in Istanbul has been disposed to two landfill areas in Istanbul - Kömürcüoda Landfill and Odayeri Landfill.

Kömürcüoda Landfill is located at the Asian side of the city contains more than 30 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW). The landfill is situated on 44 hectares and is disposing of approximately 6000 tons of waste each day. Odayeri Landfill is located at the European side of the city contains more than 55 million tons of MSW. The landfill is situated on 90 hectares and is disposing of 13000 tons of waste each day.

The Project Activity is the development, construction and management of Land Fill Gas (LFG) extraction and utilization system in Istanbul. The objective of the project is to collect the LFG and to produce electricity through gas engines coupled with generators. Also, a flaring system is used to be used to combust the excess LFG.

Before the project, the municipal waste was deposited and left for decay without any collection or destruction of the LFG, leading to the generation and release of large amounts of methane. Landfill gas is one of the largest sources of methane emissions to the atmosphere and typically contains approximately 50% methane which is a potent greenhouse gas.

The total emission reductions are 8,597,737 tCO₂e over first 7-year crediting period. Over the course of the second 7 year crediting period an estimated CO₂ reduction of 5,731,884 tonnes is predicted.

Contributions to Sustainable Development

The project contributes significantly to the region’s sustainable development in the following ways:

• Reduction of greenhouse gas emission in Turkey by replacing electricity otherwise generated by Turkish grid connected power plants, which is dominated by fossil fuel based power plants.
• Creation of local employment both during construction and operating phases.
• Contribution to the development of waste management technology and LFG utilization in Turkey.
• Reduction bad odours and risks of fires and explosions.
• Reduction of impact of the landfill on its surroundings.
• Reduction of dependency on imported electricity.