EDUCATION

M.A. – University of California, Los Angeles, 1996, Geography (Geomorphology)

B.S. – Tufts University, 1981, Geology

  PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). Currently serve as the chairman of SWANA’s Generation and Modeling Committee.

  PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Mr. Stege has 24 years of professional experience in environmental consulting and research, including 8 years of specialization on solid waste management and recycling planning, followed by 16 years of specialization in LFG generation and recovery modeling. Mr. Stege prepares or reviews domestic and international LFG modeling/due diligence studies for SCS offices throughout the U.S. He also provides training in LFG modeling to SCS staff at annual meetings, and is responsible for the ongoing development of SCS’s domestic and international LFG models. SCS has the best empirically based LFG recovery model in the LFG industry because Alex Stege has developed a model calibration procedure, applied SCS’ vast database of LFG flow and site data, and created a default model based on an evaluation the effects of site conditions, waste moisture, and waste composition to potential recovery.

Domestic Project Assignments

Mr. Stege has developed LFG recovery projections to support LFG system design, and LFG-to-energy project feasibility and financing for hundreds of landfills throughout the U.S. Many of the models and reports projected LFG recovery under various landfill management scenarios, including: non-MSW disposal, bioreactor development, leachate recirculation, and geocomposite final cover installation. Mr. Stege also has provided training on LFG modeling to both SCS staff and clients, and has led discussions of SCS Engineers’ modeling methodology at meetings with project developer clients and their investors.

Some of Mr. Stege’s domestic energy developer clients for which he prepared LFG recovery projection models and reports include the following:

• AER Montauk
• AES Carbon Holdings
• Ameresco
• Biomass Development, Inc.
• Blue Source
• Cambrian Energy
• Clean Energy Fuels
• DTE Biomass
• Ecogas/Pacific Natural Energy
• Energy Developments, Inc. (EDI)
• Element Markets
• Fortistar Methane Group
• Gas Recovery Systems (GRS)
• INGENCO
• NEO Corporation/Minnesota Methane
• Northland Power
• Reliant Energy
• U.S. Energy Biogas (formerly Zapco)
• Viridis Energy

Recent or noteworthy domestic LFG modeling projects for non-developer clients that Mr. Stege has completed include the following:

• Republic/Allied Waste Services – Prepared LFG recovery models and reports for over 20 sites throughout the U.S. Many of the LFG recovery projections were used to estimate the time period during which gas collection systems will be required to be operated under the NSPS rule (in order to evaluate post-closure costs). Developed a spreadsheet modeling tool for Allied Corporate to use to quickly evaluate the LFG generation and recovery potential for various landfills using different annual waste disposal rates, years of site operation, climate, and collection system efficiency assumptions.
• Waste Management – Prepared LFG recovery projections and accompanying reports for numerous landfills in California and Arizona, including periodic updates for several sites. Co-authored a paper on bioreactor landfills and prepared all model runs evaluating the impacts of bioreactor conditions on LFG generation and recovery.
• Anne Arundel County, Maryland – Prepared LFG recovery projections and report sections for “Feasibility Study for the Beneficial Use of Landfill Gas at the Glen Burnie and Sudley Road Landfills.”
• Salt River Project – Prepared LFG models for the Salt River Landfill in Phoenix that accounted for the development of a bioreactor cell and for leachate recirculation in selected cells.
• San Bernardino County, CA, 40-Year Waste Management Strategic Master Plan - Assisted in the development of the LFG component and developed estimates of the LFG collection and control system needs for 17 active and 23 inactive landfills.
• Outagamie County, WI (Outagamie County Landfill) - Prepared model runs under multiple scenarios, including leachate recirculation and geomembrane cover installation.

International Project Assignments

Mr. Stege’s international LFG project assignments have included preparation of pre-feasibility studies, due-diligence reports, and Project Design Documents (PDDs) for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) GHG emission reduction and methane utilization projects throughout the world. Project clients have included EPA’s LMOP, the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Natsource, AES, and others. This work has involved preparing LFG models to evaluate methane recovery and achievable certified emission reductions (CERs) for well over one-hundred landfills in developing countries, including sites in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. A summary of this international project work is provided below.

LMOP/Methane to Markets Assignments. Mr. Stege has been providing assistance to U.S. EPA’s LMOP in their efforts to promote LFG utilization internationally, and has been the primary author of country-specific LFG models and multiple reports for LMOP, including pre-feasibility studies and assessment reports. These projects are summarized below. Mr. Stege also has prepared numerous LFG models for other LMOP assignments for sites throughout the world.

• Colombia LFG Model. Mr. Stege was the author of LMOP’s Colombia LFG Model and the model user’s manual, which was released in September 2010. He presented the Colombia LFG Model at workshops in September 2010 in Medellin, Colombia and in December 2011 in Bogota, Colombia.
• Ukraine LFG Model. Mr. Stege was the author of LMOP’s Ukraine LFG Model and the model user’s manual, which was released in 2009. He presented the Ukraine LFG Model at a workshop in October 2009 in Kiev, Ukraine.
• Mexico LFG Model. Mr. Stege was the author of LMOP’s Mexico LFG Model and the model user’s manual, versions 1 and 2 (version 2 was released in 2009). He presented the new version of the Mexico LFG Model and provided training on model use at a workshop in March 2009 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
• Central America LFG Model. Mr. Stege developed an LFG model for the 7 Central American countries, prepared the model users’ manual, and conducted model training at workshop in San Salvador, El Salvador in March 2007 where the model was publicly released.
• M2M Workshops, Site Assessments, and Pre-Feasibility Studies in India. Mr. Stege has traveled to India several times as part of an SCS-LMOP team, where he has conducted site visits to landfills, and given presentations on assessing LFG project potential at landfills in India and other developing countries. Mr. Stege has prepared LFG model projections for numerous India sites and been the primary author of pre-feasibility studies and assessment reports for landfills in Mumbai (2), Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Agra, and Kolkatta (in progress).
• Site Assessments and Pre-feasibility Studies in Argentina. Mr. Stege prepared the LFG models and was one of the primary authors of project assessment reports for landfills in Buenos Aires and Neuquen, and a pre-feasibility study of a landfill in Bahia Blanca.
• Site Assessments and Pre-feasibility Studies in Colombia. Mr. Stege prepared LFG models for numerous sites in Colombia and was one of the primary authors of project pre-feasibility studies and assessment reports for landfills in and around Bogota (2), Medellin (2), Cali, and Cartagena.
• Site Assessments and Pre-feasibility Studies in Mexico. Mr. Stege prepared LFG models for numerous sites in Mexico and was one of the primary authors of project pre-feasibility studies and assessment reports for landfills in Cancun, Ensenada, Nuevo Laredo, and Mexico City.
• Site Assessments and Pre-feasibility Studies in Ukraine and Russia. Mr. Stege prepared LFG models for numerous sites in Ukraine and Russia and was a contributing author of project pre-feasibility studies and assessment reports for landfills in Ukraine and Russia.
• El Trebol Landfill (Guatemala) Pre-feasibility Study. Mr. Stege prepared the LFG modeling and was the primary author of the El Trebol Landfill Pre-Feasibility Study. Mr. Stege presented the results of the pre-feasibility study at an LMOP/USAID workshop in Guatemala City in October 2005.
• World Bank/LMOP Thailand LFG Modeling Study. Mr. Stege evaluated data on Thailand’s disposal sites and developed LFG generation and recovery projections for 56 sites. Mr. Stege co-hosted a 3-hour World Bank workshop on LFG development training in Bangkok in April 2004 and presented the results of the modeling work.

Project Design Document (PDD) – Los Laureles Landfill Gas Project, Guadalajara, Mexico. Mr. Stege was the primary author of the PDD, which is the project planning document required to implement a greenhouse gas emission reduction project to obtain carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The work involved following the CDM protocol for evaluating the “additionality” of the LFG-to-energy project (whether the project will create emission reductions that are additional to what would have occurred without the benefit of carbon credits), estimating the amount of emission reductions to be produced by the project, and developing a monitoring plan for demonstrating achievement of emission reductions.

Project Design Document (PDD) and CDM Support – Coyula Landfill Gas Project, Guadalajara, Mexico. Mr. Stege was the primary author of the PDD, including following the CDM protocol for evaluating the “additionality” of the LFG-to-energy project, estimating the amount of emission reductions to be produced by the project, and developing a monitoring plan for demonstrating achievement of emission reductions. The project is now registered under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

AES Carbon Holdings, LLC (AES)/Nejapa Landfill, El Salvador – Due Diligence Evaluation and LFG Modeling. Mr. Stege provided critical due diligence support for the Nejapa LFG project, including the evaluation of site conditions and gas collection system performance, and the development of LFG recovery projections for various existing and future phases of the landfill. Mr. Stege also prepared dozens of LFG model runs for the client to use in economic analyses, and performed a sensitivity analysis of the impacts of varying assumptions and future scenarios on projected CERs.

LFG Modeling of Brazil’s Landfills (various clients). Mr. Stege prepared LFG models and conducted the analyses of potential LFG recovery and CERs from LFG projects in Adrianopolis, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Joao.

CAF and Panama City/Cerro Patacon, Panama Pre-Feasibility Study and Pump Test Evaluation Report. Mr. Stege prepared the LFG model and analysis of potential CERs from the proposed project, performed the financial analysis and evaluation of environmental impacts, and was one of the primary authors of the pre-feasibility study. Mr. Stege also was the primary author of a report describing the pump test performed at the landfill, analyzing the field data, and presenting a revised LFG generation model accounting for the pump test results and the proposed LFG development schedule.

World Bank/Study of CDM LFG Project Shortfall. Mr. Stege was the primary author of a study for the World Bank involving a comparison of methane recovery rates forecast in PDDs to actual recovery rates provided in monitoring reports. The study examined the extent of under-performance of international LFG projects and performed modeling analysis to evaluate model error and other reasons for not achieving CERs projected in the PDDs. Mr. Stege has continuously updated this study with new data and given presentations on the updated results at EPA, M2M, and SWANA conferences in Beijing, China (October 2007), Washington, D.C. (January 2008 and 2009), Houston, TX (March 2008), Singapore (November 2008), and Delhi, India (March 2010).

Confidential Client / Due Diligence Assessments and LFG Modeling Studies of Proposed LFG Projects for Four Landfills in Colombia. Mr. Stege prepared the LFG models, contributed to the writing of assessment reports for two sites, and wrote the LFG modeling studies for two sites.

Confidential Client / Due Diligence Assessment of Proposed LFG Project for a Landfill in Mexico. Mr. Stege prepared the LFG models and was a primary author of the due diligence report.

World Bank/Latin America Pre-Feasibility Reports. Mr. Stege was a key member of the SCS team that worked on the 2004-2005 pre-feasibility studies for 10 landfills in Latin America. Mr. Stege prepared the LFG models and report sections on model results, and helped prepare many of the other sections of the reports, including the financial analyses and environmental impacts evaluations.

International Finance Corporation (IFC)/Due Diligence Report. The IFC project was conducted during the fall of 2004 and involved a technical and financial appraisal of, and due diligence on, a proposed LFG-to-energy project being constructed at the Villa Dominico Landfill in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mr. Stege was the lead investigator evaluating the proposed LFG collection and flare system to determine whether it would be capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the amounts estimated by the project developers. As part of that evaluation, he prepared alternative estimates of LFG recovery and resulting CERs, and described in detail the conditions under which the estimated reductions could be delivered. Mr. Stege also evaluated the monitoring methodology proposed in the PDD to confirm whether it could be implemented, and recommended modifications needed to ensure that the necessary data could be collected to enable verification of the volume of emission reductions generated annually by the proposed project. Mr. Stege was the primary author of the report providing the results of the project evaluation.

Other Due Diligence Assignments/Pre-Feasibility Studies. Mr. Stege has performed or assisted with many studies of proposed LFG projects at landfills throughout the world for other clients not listed above. The assignments involved preparing evaluations of completed pump tests, the proposed LFG collection and flaring systems, the project’s capability of delivering the amount of CERs cited in the PDD, project additionality, the adequacy of the PDDs’ monitoring methodologies, and evaluations of health, safety, and environmental issues.

Other International LFG Modeling. Mr. Stege has developed numerous LFG models for other clients in support of assessments of the LFG recovery potential at landfills in Latin America, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Africa, and Israel.

Conference Presentations

Methane to Markets Partnership Expo: Beijing China, Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2007. “Evaluation of Landfill Gas Models Using Monitored Recovery from Projects in Latin America, China, and Eastern Europe.”

11th Annual LMOP Conference and Project Expo, January 2008. “Overestimation of Landfill Gas Recovery – Implications and Recommendations for Better Modeling Practices.”

SWANA’s 31st Annual Landfill Gas Symposium, Houston, Texas. March 10-13, 2008. “Overestimation of emission reductions from Landfill Gas Projects in Developing Countries.”

ISWA/WMRAS World Conference 2008. Singapore, Nov. 3-6. “Methane Emission Reductions Achieved by Landfill Gas Projects in Developing Countries”.

13th Annual LMOP Conference and Project Expo, January 2010. “LMOP’s New LFG Models for Mexico and Ukraine – Tools for LFG Project Screening and Assessment.”

Methane to Markets Partnership Expo: Delhi, India, March 2-5, 2010. “Steps Towards Initiating LFG Utilization Projects in Developing Countries – Planning Process, LFG Models, and Managing Project Expectations.”

14th Annual LMOP Conference and Project Expo, January 2011. “Introducing a New Landfill Gas Model for Colombia.”