Growing up in beautiful Glen Burnie, Maryland--home of the first indoor shopping mall--I remember kids shouting "Save gas, fart in a jar!" to passing cars as we walked to school. I like to think it was budding concern for the environment coming from an outgrowth of the energy crisis of the late 1970's, but no, it was just a stupid childhood chance to say 'fart' and giggle. Anyway, it turns out, we weren't too far off.
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 over 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.
The partners accepted the following awards at EPA's Ninth Annual Landfill Methane Outreach Program Conference and Project Expo in Baltimore.
Project of the Year: Alternate Fuel. Biodiesel Industries and City of Denton, Texas - Landfill gas powers a 3 million gallon biodiesel production facility at the City of Denton's landfill. The biodiesel is used to power the city's truck fleet, which is the first time landfill gas has been used in the biodiesel production process.
Project of the Year: Electricity Production. Santee Cooper, S.C. - Santee Cooper's second project in South Carolina will bring their landfill gas-fired capacity to almost 10 megawatts (MW), with plans for 54 MW of green power on line by 2012.
Project of the Year: Direct Use. Chester County, Pa. and Granger Energy - Landfill gas from the Lanchester Landfill is delivered to four local companies, offsetting their reliance on natural gas and providing considerable cost savings.
Community Partner of the Year. Fairfax County, Va. - The county uses gas from the I-95 Landfill to produce electricity, dry sludge at the wastewater treatment plant, and heat the county's facilities using infrared heaters.
Energy End User Partner of the Year. Interface Flooring Systems, Ga. - Interface added landfill gas use at its LaGrange, Ga. facility to reduce further its environmental footprint.
Energy Producer Partner of the Year. Wabash Valley Power Association, Ind. – More than 4.5 percent of Wabash's customers purchase green power through their EnviroWatts program, fueled by seven landfill gas energy facilities totaling 22 megawatts.
Industry Partner of the Year. Granger Energy - A family-owned business, Granger Energy has more than 10 projects operating in six states, saving the equivalent of more than 4 million barrels of oil.
State Partner of the Year. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection - The state agency provides a full spectrum of technical assistance services, financial incentives, and renewable energy programs for landfill gas energy development.
EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) is a voluntary assistance and partnership program that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by supporting landfill gas energy project development. For more information or a copy of the ninth annual conference proceedings, visit: http://www.epa.gov/lmop/awards.htm
The program also assists countries throughout the world in developing landfill methane reduction projects through the US-government led Methane to Markets Partnership. For more information on this international effort, visit: http://www.methanetomarkets.org.
If good publicity promotes corporate environmental stewardship, I've done my part for the day. Or maybe I just wanted to write 'fart' and giggle.
