WIFR – New Lee County renewable natural gas plant turns trash into clean energy

The trash at the Lee County Landfill in Dixon produces methane, which is usually just burned off, but Ameresco and Republic Services think that’s a waste. This is why in June 2025 they opened a renewable natural gas plant across from the landfill.

“We as society produce waste. We dispose of it, but instead of letting it go to no use, we capture the byproduct of the biomethane and repurpose it in the form of green energy,” said Ameresco President of Renewable Fuels Michael Bakas.

“It was, what I felt at the time, a good piece of economic development,” said State Rep. Li Arellano Jr. “You never know for sure if any given project is going to fire whether it’s energy, retail, industrial, residential you name it but if you’re doing your job a few of them will take off every year.”

Arellano said talks for the project started when he was Dixon’s mayor. The idea is for the gas produced from the landfill to move into a natural gas pipeline and offer fuel to area homes.

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