14-02-06
Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell announced that the US Environmental
Protection Agency has recognized Pennsylvania for its national energy leadership
in working to put landfill gas to work for the economy.
EPA selected the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and a
state-supported project for awards under its Landfill Methane Outreach Program.
DEP was named "State Partner of the Year" and Granger Energy, which used state
funding to launch Lanchester Landfill's multiple-customer landfill-gas-to-energy
project, won two awards.
"More important than awards is how we are implementing our energy policy as a
plan for jobs, security and prosperity for Pennsylvania," Governor Rendell said.
"Putting this resource to use to power our economy gives us a clean, cheap
energy supply that our businesses can use to keep jobs in Pennsylvania. Cleaner
energy has its own rewards as well. Diversifying energy supplies by utilizing
clean resources helps to enhance security, reduce our dependence on imported
fossil fuels and clean the air at the same time."
EPA cited Pennsylvania's many initiatives to encourage and foster use of
landfill methane gas, which is emitted from decomposing garbage. The state has
focused its efforts on capturing the methane and piping the landfill gas
directly to serve businesses.
One example is Granger Energy's Lanchester Landfill project in Lancaster County.
Granger's project, which the administration inaugurated in October, was funded
in part by $ 235,000 from the Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant Program. Granger
Energy won EPA's "Project of the Year" award for its project, and the company
was named "Industry Partner of the Year."
Granger began the landfill gas utilization project in December 2004 with a
system to supply treated gas to several companies to use in place of natural gas
in boilers and processes, displacing their reliance on natural gas. The company
began selling recovered landfill methane gas to Dart Container, one of Leola's
largest manufacturers.
Since then, Advanced Food Products and L&S Sweeteners have been approved to use
the treated landfill gas in their boilers. Granger anticipates providing energy
to an additional company, New Holland Concrete.
Enough landfill gas will be used annually through the Lanchester project to
save 122,800 barrels of oil, offset the use of 250 railcars of coal, provide
greenhouse gas reduction benefits equal to planting 15,600 acres of forest,
remove the emissions of 11,550 cars or heat 33,900 homes.
"We are taking a resource that remains largely untapped at landfills across the
state and putting it to use to help our businesses grow," DEP Secretary Kathleen
A. McGinty said. "Recovering methane gas provides significant environmental and
economic benefits by eliminating methane emissions, which contributes to global
warming, while capturing the emissions' energy value."
Methane captured from landfills also can be transformed into a cost-
effective fuel source to power turbines that generate electricity or heat.
Electricity produced with landfill gas helps to feed the grid that powers
commonwealth homes and businesses. This diversity in energy supplying the grid
help to enhance security and keep overall energy costs low.
The Rendell administration has provided strong financial support to encourage
landfill gas reuse projects through the investment of more than $ 2.5 mm in
grant and loan funding through the Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant Program,
the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority and the Alternative Fuel Incentive
Grants Program. These strategic investments have leveraged mms in private
investment and created thousands of jobs.
Pennsylvania also has one of the nation's most progressive Alternative Energy
Portfolio Standards, which ensures in 15 years, 18 % of all of the energy
generated in the commonwealth comes from clean, efficient sources, including
landfill methane.
DEP has developed tools to assist private businesses interested in developing or
using landfill methanegas. The department's bureaus of Waste Management and Air
Quality have worked to streamline the permitting process for landfill gas
generators and end users. By implementing a general permit process allowing
producers to meet industry-wide practices, most permits are issued in 60 days or
less. DEP also has assisted private business to harness the power of landfill
methane gas by creating a database that allows developers to find promising
landfill projects and end users to find sources of fuel.
Pennsylvania is home to 22 operational gas-to-energy projects, and 14 more
projects are under construction. DEP estimates these projects generate 60 MW of
electricity, enough to power more than 38,000 homes for a year.
By using this energy source, DEP and its partners are reducing the amount of
harmful emissions being released into the atmosphere. The methane found in
landfill gas is a potent and significant greenhouse gas that plays a role in
global warming.
The state's landfill-gas-to-energy projects offer the following benefits:
-- Reduce emissions equivalent to taking 47,027 cars off the road.
-- Offset the use of 1,202 railcars of coal.
-- Prevent the use of 570,332 barrels of oil.
-- Equal the beneficial effect of planting 72,448 acres of forest.
Source: http://www.depweb.state.pa.us