Green energy will soon be helping to power homes, following Waste
Management's announcement today on the groundbreaking of a gas-to-electric
facility at Geneva Landfill in Ashtabula County, Ohio.
Once construction is completed, Waste Management Geneva Landfill's gas plant
is designed to generate 6.4 megawatts of electricity, enough to power over 6,000
homes. The plant will be operational by the end of this year.
Methane gas, which is produced in the landfill from the decomposition of
waste, will be channeled into engines that are used to create electricity. The
electricity generated at Waste Management Geneva Landfill will go into the
electrical power grid.
"Waste Management is committed to the investments and innovative technology
required to bring a state-of-the-art facility like this to the Ashtabula County
area," said Jerry Ross, Senior District Manager for Waste Management Geneva
Landfill. "By converting waste into energy to power homes, this "green energy"
plant represents the best of having tomorrow's technology here and now."
The U.S. EPA has endorsed landfill gas as an environmentally friendly
resource that reduces reliance on coal, oil and other fossil fuels. Like wind
and solar power, landfill gas is a resource that can be harnessed to produce
energy and has many benefits and advantages compared to fossil fuels and other
alternative energy sources.
Waste Management owns or operates over 130 landfill gas-to-energy facilities
in North America. Waste Management pioneered landfill-gas-to-energy technology
over two decades ago and operates more facilities than any other company in the
United States.
In 2007, Waste Management announced four sustainability goals, which included
increasing the amount of waste-based energy produced. Currently, the company
creates enough energy to power 1.1 million homes, and it is looking to double to
reach two million by 2020. Geneva Landfill is a step in accomplishing this goal
and represents another source of renewable energy. Waste Management is the
leading provider of integrated waste management services and one of the largest
residential recyclers in North America.