US EPA says Ecuador joins international effort to recover methane

Washington (Platts)--8Nov2005

An international effort to recover methane and use the greenhouse gas as
a clean energy source gained a new member--Ecuador--at the second annual
Methane to Markets Partnership meeting, the US Environmental Protection Agency
said yesterday. 

     In adding a 17th member country, the group now represents more than
60% of global methane emissions, the agency said. The participating nations
have the potential to reduce methane emissions each year to the equivalent of
up to 50-mil metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2015. 

     In terms of energy supply, these countries could also recover enough
methane for energy use to displace the need for up to 500 Bcf of natural gas,
EPA said.

     Achieving these goals would be the same as eliminating greenhouse gas
emissions from 50 coal-fired plants generating 500 MW or enough energy to heat
about 7.2-mil households for a year, according to EPA.

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