(Ava, NY – May 21, 2013) Continuing its partnership with Waste Management, (NYSE: WM), the Oneida Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority (OHSWMA) has added a second engine to the power plant that uses gas from the regional landfill to create green electricity. The facility now creates roughly 26,600 megawatt hours per year, or enough renewable energy to power more than 3,300 homes.
This is the first project of its kind developed by OHSWMA, which collaborated with Waste Management to construct and manage the facility. Waste Management, which currently operates more than 130 beneficial reuse landfill gas projects, is an expert in creating renewable energy from waste.
The electricity from this project is created through a process called landfill-gas-to-energy. As organic materials, like food waste, decompose inside the landfill, gas composed of about 55 percent methane is created. Collection wells placed all over the site currently absorb this gas and route it to either a flare for destruction or the gas is piped to the energy facility where it is filtered and pressurized. From there, it is used as a fuel to run two engine generators. The facility was designed so that as gas flows increase over time, additional generators could be added to produce more power; because of the collection system’s recent expansion, more fuel is now available from it.
“We have expanded our waste-to-electricity project at our Regional Landfill much earlier than we had originally planned,” said William Rabbia, OHSWMA Executive Director. “While we continue to generate green electricity, we use the project’s proceeds to fund Authority programs, keeping costs down for residents and businesses in the two Counties. These proceeds helped the Authority in lowering solid waste tipping fees in 2013.”
When compared to fossil fuels, as well as other renewable sources of energy, including wind and solar, landfill gas has several benefits:
• It’s endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an energy alternative to fossil fuels
• It’s not dependent on other environmental factors, like wind or sunlight
• It’s reliable during peak energy hours
• It’s an economical alternative to other fuel sources, like natural gas.
“As the largest landfill-gas-to-energy developer and operator in North America, we are harnessing energy to power homes, industries and even fuel vehicles,” said Paul Pabor, vice president of renewable energy for Waste Management. “We are pleased to see the plant we developed for OHSWMA increase its capacity to provide clean electricity.”
In New York, Waste Management has five other energy facilities in operation, producing approximately 25 megawatts of electricity. That is enough to save more than 100 thousand tons of coal annually and power over 27 thousand homes.
In total, WM owns or operates over 131 landfill-gas-to-energy facilities across North America, producing enough electricity to power more than 400,000 homes. Combined with the company’s other renewable energy projects, Waste Management produces over 9 million-megawatt hours of electricity, or enough for more than 1.2 million homes.
For more information about this and other renewable energy programs, visit www.wm.com . To watch a video on how landfill gas-to-energy works, visit our YouTube page at www.youtube.com/wastemanagement.