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Residents and commissioners press for methane capture, energy upgrades and reuse options for City Center
Summary
A resident and several commissioners raised methane emissions in parks and redevelopment areas and urged exploration of methane capture and reuse; commissioners also discussed repurposing the City Center building and energy retrofits rather than demolition.
A visiting resident and several commission members urged the Sustainability Commission to investigate methane emissions in parts of Englewood and to pursue capture and reuse opportunities, and several commissioners pressed for deeper consideration of energy retrofits and reuse of the City Center building rather than wholesale demolition.
Robert Stevenson, who identified himself as a resident of Englewood, told the commission “we have within city limits and close to city limits a bunch of methane generators,” and pointed to the municipal golf course, the Sheridan redevelopment area and Centennial Park’s Rockies baseball field as local sites where methane is surfacing. Stevenson said trees on parts of the golf course “won't grow because of the methane.”
Later in the meeting a speaker who identified himself as Jeff (speaker) presented more technical options and examples, saying Englewood already has a methane injection system at the region’s sewage treatment facility and that there are technologies to collect disparate methane sources, concentrate them and either inject the gas into a pipeline or use it to generate electricity on site. Jeff said options include piping captured gas back to a treatment plant for cleaning and injection, capturing gas into tanks for periodic transport, or installing engines on site to generate power or to fuel municipal vehicles. He noted cost and staffing are significant barriers but said federal programs and IRA funds exist to underwrite projects.
Several commissioners asked staff to track the issue and suggested inviting technical experts or regional partners — including South Platte wastewater representatives and DRCOG staff — to give a presentation to the commission. No formal motion or commitment of city funds was recorded during the meeting.
