St. Louis County Landfill Unveils Geothermal Field

VIRGINIA, Minn.– St. Louis County’s landfill got a new first-of-its kind technology in the state that creates new energy from garbage.

A ribbon cutting was held today in Virginia at the site of the landfill’s new 10-acre geo-thermal field.
The field has a specialized liner with coils at its base.

Heat produced through decomposing garbage will now be captured in those coils.

That new energy will eventually power a future leachate waste-water plant nearby.

“In my other life I’m a farmer. And when you farm, you’re supposed to leave the land behind better than when it came to you. So, this is what we’re trying to do as the county board is to leave the resources better than when we found it,” said Keith Nelson, St. Louis County Commissioner 6th District.

“So, I mean geothermal has been around for a long time. I talked to our engineers and our regulators and said ‘Hey, can we just put geothermal lines, and is that allowable?’ ‘Has anyone ever done that?’ So, they researched that, and they were really excited about doing that,” said Dave Fink, Director of Environmental Services, St. Louis County.

The cost for the new leachate treatment plant for the landfill’s toxic wastewater is 3 million dollars.
$33,000 of that covers the geo-thermal liner.

County officials say the $33,000 is expected to pay for itself within the first year of operation.

The new wastewater plant is expected to be complete by 2026.