Winning Plans Fight Climate Change by Harnessing Valuable Energy from Landfill Gas
Category:Air Type: News Source: EPA Date: Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
(Washington, D.C. - Jan. 13, 2009) 7 innovative landfill methane capture plans were acknowledged by E.P.A. for generating renewable energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Announced at the twelveth Yearly Landfill Methane Outreach Plan (LMOP) Yearly Conference, the 7 winners included a plan that converts landfill gas to fuel for Co. vehicles, and one of the biggest multiple-customer landfill gas use plans in the country.
"Our award winners demonstrate that through partnerships and innovation we can transform waste into environmental wealth," said Robert J. Meyers, principal deputy assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. "These projects, and others like them, not only address climate change, but also produce renewable energy and economic benefits for the local community."
Methane, a primary component of landfill gas (LFG), is a greenhouse gas with in excess of 20 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Methane emissions from landfills represent an opportunity to capture and use a significant energy resource. Instead of allowing LFG to escape into the air, it can be captured, converted, and used as an energy source.
E.P.A. has assisted in the development of in excess of 360 LFG energy plans over the past 13 years. Currently, there are approximately 470 LFG energy plans operational in the United States. Electricity plans generate an estimated 11.5 billion kilowatt-hours per year, equivalent to powering 915,000 households. Direct use plans deliver 80 billion cubic feet per year of LFG, equivalent to heating in excess of 700,000 homes. E.P.A. estimates that 520 additional landfills present attractive opportunities for plan development.
The 2008 LFG award winning energy plans employed unique plan structures and took creative approaches to use LFG from municipal solid waste landfills, creating a new source of renewable energy to benefit the local community. The winners are:
LMOP Plans of the Year
Granger, Conestoga Landfill Gas Utilization Project, Morgantown, Penn.
Green Energy Center, High Btu Landfill Gas Energy Project, Grove City, Ohio
Greenville Gas Producers, LLC and Co. of Greenville, Greenville, S.C.
LMOP Industry Partner
Casella Waste Systems, Inc., Angelica, Morrisonville, and Seneca, N.Y.; and Hampden, Maine.
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