EPA Recognizes Landfill-Gas Methane Projects

[jpak]

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story;jsessionid=aMhWa3sGHZ_5?id

Washington, DC The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized the latest accomplishments of landfill-gas methane partners who have reduced emissions of methane and created renewable energy sources.

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EPA has assisted in the development of more than 200 landfill gas energy projects in the past 10 years. In 2005 alone, landfill gas energy projects in the U.S. provided more than 9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 74 billion cubic feet of gas for corporate and government end users. The emissions reductions associated with these projects last year were equal to those from 13 million vehicles. The energy equivalent would be powering 725,000 homes and heating 1.2 million homes.

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[jpak]

1. 9 billion kWh exceeds the output of a 1000 MW power plant

not bad for a "niche" energy source...

[phantom power]

2. 9 terawatt hours is about 0.03% of the energy we used last year.

So, I think I'll stick with "niche power source"

[jpak]

3. I'll remember that when the first of Dick Cheney's 1000 MW

nucular power plants opens (ten years from now)...

:evilgrin:

[phantom power]

4. Yes... that's exactly it!

Any gigawatt power plant is insignificant, compared to what we need to avert disaster. A gigawatt is pretty close to 1/1000 of what we need, regardless of how it's being produced. (Or, if we cut our energy budget in half, it's 1/500 of what we need)

[Viking12]

5. We have one in our county

The landfill gas is piped at a rate of about 1,000 cubic feet per minute to three 1,400 horsepower gas engines. These internal combustion engines, installed in 2000 replacing the original gas turbine engine, are designed to operate on landfill gas or natural gas. The three gas engines, which operate 24 hours per day, are used to turn electrical generators rated at 1 megawatt each. Annual electrical output is approximately 15 million-kilowatt hours.

The electrical power that is generated by this system is connected directly to the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation power grid in the Oshkosh area where it supplies the equivalent of about 900 residential homes.

For an added bonus, the capping of the garbage mounds helps reduce the seagull problem too ;)

[jpak]

6. The one in my county is used by a local paper mill

n/tg

[hunter]

7. The air pollution caused by these big diesels is not insignificant.

Beats burning coal, I suppose.
:shrug:

[Viking12]

8. No such thing as a free lunch.

But the net environmental impact is significantly lower than not harnessing the methane.

[NNadir]

9. This is true. Methane is a very potent GHG.