By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

Local officials are still hopeful a request for proposals concerning the utilization of greenhouse gases being emitted from decomposing trash buried in the county-owned but closed New Hope Landfill will present a number of options.

Commissioners were told in February that few proposals were received however, and the only turnkey project was offered by Enerdyne, a Matthews-based company.

Monday night Godwin, who serves as a consultant to the Appalachian State University Center as a landfill gas project manager for Columbus County, had different news.

Godwin said he and County Manager Bill Clark had via conference call discussed contracts with Enerdyne and that the company was willing to make certain changes to its contract that would be more attractive to the county.

In addition, Godwin said through conversations with Brunswick Electric Membership and Commissioner Sammie Jacobs the landfill gas taskforce had “perhaps identified even a better prospect.”

Godwin withheld the name of the company but said an Atlanta, Ga. based company that has worked with another county in the state may have a proposal for Columbus County.

“It would be a larger revenue stream,” Godwin said.

“This is well worth looking into. It could mean much more than what we are looking at,” Jacobs added.

“We would at least like to bring to you all of the options that we can,” Godwin said.

While the county would have to invest no money, the growing market for carbon credits to offset environmental impact opened the door for any project that destroyed or used harmful greenhouse gases.

Any such project has the potential to be profitable and the board wants to ensure the terms of the proposal meant Columbus County would reap financial benefit.

In its previous contract proposal Enerdyne suggested sharing a portion of profits after the company’s own costs were met.

Some board members were skeptical that due to the language, the county would not see a financial benefit.

The board asked officials to go back to the drawing board to see if certain provisions in the contract proposal could be revised to specify some sort of guaranteed revenue through royalties or some other profit-sharing method.

Godwin said he would like to schedule a workshop between the landfill gas taskforce, commissioners and interested parties within the next two weeks.