Nelson landfill waste-to-watts project
Eamon Rood, Energy News
4 November, 2026
The Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill has sought registration of interest for commissioning and operating an electricity plant as part of the council's Waste-to-Watts project. Since 2005, landfill gas captured from the landfill has been transported approximately 2.5 kilometres to Nelson Hospital, where it's used for heating, hot water and steam production. A 2-megawatt boiler at the hospital produces more than 60 per cent of the hospital's thermal energy demand for heating, hot water and steam. That substantially displaced the hospital's coal use and reduced its carbon footprint by 3300 tonnes every year. The project was originally part of a three-way partnership formed between Nelson City Council, Nelson Marlborough District Health Board and Pioneer Energy, which owned and operated the gas treatment and delivery system and the boiler at the hospital. Over the past several years, the NTRLBU has invested heavily in expanding and improving gas collection infrastructure at York Valley, including additional extraction wells, piping networks and gas management systems. In 2022, it purchased the landfill gas management contract and associated infrastructure from Pioneer.