T. Boone Pickens-founded Clean Energy Fuels has agreed to acquire Dallas Clean Energy  with $19.1 million in cash from Camco International and a $30 million credit facility from PlainsCapital Bank.

Clean Energy has partnered for the deal with Cambrian Energy, a landfill gas project development and management company, which already owns 30 percent of DCE.

“Use of biogas as a vehicle fuel has enormous potential to both reduce carbon emissions and reduce our dependence on foreign oil by displacing the use of petroleum fuel,” Clean Energy CEO Andrew Littlefair said in a statement.
             
DCE, in turn, owns the McCommas Bluff landfill gas processing plant, which is the third-largest landfill gas operation in the United States. The methane gas that results from decomposing organic material can be collected from the landfills, providing a much cleaner alternative to oil.

This particular landfill, which is owned by the city of Dallas, was opened in 1975 and is set to close in 2042. But estimates pin the timeline of quality methane gas production at approximately 30 years after the landfill closes.
 
Clean Energy is counting on it. The company reported a net loss of $8.9 million for the year ended December 2007. The landfill acquisition may prove to be a valuable addition to Clean Energy’s distribution, with distribution of the natural gas to be handled by Atmos Energy Pipeline Company.