Waste Management’s Riverbend landfill to produce landfill-gas-to-energy for Oregon homes

25 September 2009

US-based Waste Management and the city of McMinnville’s utility, McMinnville Water & Light will soon use everyday garbage to generate power for thousands of homes in the US state of Oregon, following the groundbreaking of Waste Management’s new energy plant at the company’s landfill west of McMinnville.

The $10m project will work by collecting methane gas-created from the natural decomposition of waste-from the landfill through a network of underground pipes. From there, the gas will be used to power engines, which will then generate electricity on-site for sale to McMinnville Water & Light.

The plant will produce about 2.5MW of electricity. It is expected to be operational in mid-2010, and if allowed to expand by the local Yamhill County Board of Commissioners, it will generate energy for McMinnville over the next 30-50 years.

‘Our groundbreaking ensures that not even garbage will go to waste,’ said George Duvendack, Riverbend’s district manager. ‘By investing in landfill-gas-to-energy, we are developing clean and renewable energy to power homes and advance sustainability in our community.’

Paul Elias, general manager of McMinnville Water and Light, added, ‘Landfill gas is an especially smart option for us because it is a resource we already have in the community. ‘That translates to lower costs for customers because there are no transmission fees.’

‘The fact that landfill gas is renewable and reliable is important as well. Wind and solar are renewable, but not as reliable. With gas from Riverbend Landfill, we will have a steady and reliable source of clean and low-cost energy for decades to come,’ he added.

Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is a provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services.

Founded in 1889, McMinnville Water & Light provides low-cost, electricity and fresh, clean drinking water to McMinnville residents and businesses.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: biogas

This story was published on Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 5:27 pm and is filed under North America, biomass/biofuel, companies, energy efficiency. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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