Image Credit: Alex E. Proimos/Flickr
Thousands of homeowners near New Springfield, Ohio will soon have their homes powered by electricity generated from the burning of methane gas captured out of a local landfill. Garbage and recycling giant Waste Management recently broke ground on a gas-to-electric plant at town’s Mahoning Landfill, which will provide 4.8 megawatts of electricity to over 3,500 local homes once it becomes operational at the end of the year. The new plant joins more than 130 landfill-gas-to-energy projects already owned and operated by the Waste Management, which combined generate more than 540 megawatts of power.
Methane gas is generated at landfills as waste decomposes, captured before it is released into the atmosphere, and then burned in a gas turbine or boiler to create electricity. Burning methane to produce electricity produces less CO2 than burning other fuel sources like coal and oil, but prior to burning it is still a potent greenhouse gas. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane remains in the atmosphere for 9-15 years and traps more heat over a 100-year period than other gasses. 17 percent of all human–related methane emissions is from our waste decomposing in landfills, so it is vital for us to harness this gas to not only fight climate change but to also provide a cleaner-burning alternative fuel.
While many municipalities are using methane gas from their landfills to generate electricity, corporations are getting in on the action too. Apple recently announced that they will be paying for biogas to power “Bloom Boxes” fuel-cells to partially power their data center and Microsoft is building their new data center directly on top of a landfill to take advantage of the technology.
[via PRNewswire]