SECOND GENERATOR GOES ON-LINE

In early 2007, SECCRA began turning landfill gas into electricity to sell to the power grid. This fall, second generator was brought on-line that will bring total production to 1.8 megawatts of electricity – enough to power approximately 1,100 homes.

As trash decomposes, organic material produces methane gas. If not controlled, the gas escapes through the layers of trash and dirt into the environment. In the past, SECCRA and other landfills used a flare to burn off landfill gas in an effort to control the gas and keep it from making its way into the environment.

SECCRA’s extensive collection system which is installed throughout the landfill, takes the methane gas out of the landfill cells and pumps it to the power plant where it feeds it into two generators. The electricity it produces is sent to PECO power lines on Mosquito Lane, which in turn transfers it to the power grid.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) statistics show that SECCRA now reduces the amount of methane that is introduced into the environment by 3,586 tons. This is equivalent to removing the emissions of 13,211 automobiles, planting 18,825 acres of new forest, offsetting the use of 338 railcars of coal or averting the usage of 123,443 light bulbs. These numbers are multiplied when you take into account the offset of carbon dioxide from avoiding the use of fossil fuels.

The EPA honored SECCRA with a “Project of the Year” award for its successful effort to turn landfill gas into usable electric power without the backing of third parties.

The cost of building the power plant, the collection system, well fields and generators was $3.7 million. It will take approximately five years to recoup the expenditures, after which the income will be used to improve landfill operations or make new investments that benefit our constituents.