By Scott Weiser | Colorado Springs Gazette
The largest and most active methane emissions detection test bed in the world is located in Colorado. It just landed a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand its methane leak simulator site in Fort Collins.
The Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center (METEC) is part of a collaboration between Colorado State University and the oil and gas industry to provide an advanced testing facility for new types of methane detecting equipment.
The simulator is “eight acres of Hollywood well pads,” said Daniel Zimmerle, director of the methane emissions program at CSU. “I like to call it Hollywood well pads because it looks like well pads, we can make them emit like well pads. So, it is just like a Hollywood set except it’s for leak detection.”