Dive Brief:
- A waste-to-electricity project in Bradenton, FL is being called a success after its first year in operation. The $4.5 million investment into the net-metering project at the Lena Road Landfill has saved $453,509 in electricity costs at the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant in 2014.
- The proximity of the wastewater plant and the landfill made it ideal to create the net metering project to reuse the methane gas.
- Due to the Clean Air Act, facilities had to implement landfill gas collection systems to meet the requirements of the law.
Dive Insight:
The project, completed in 2014, has a 10-year return on investment. Methane is collected, distributed through a generator on site, then converted into electricity used to offset the costs at the adjacent wastewater treatment plant.
Gus DiFonzo, the deputy director of the Manatee County Utilities Department, said, “It has been a huge success. More so than the numbers is the fact that we are utilizing methane gas to offset electricity costs and that is a green effect right here.”
Earlier this week, Aria Energy opened its landfill gas-to-energy plant in Nokomis, FL; the facility is capable of generating energy for over 2,800 households.
