{"id":3069,"date":"2019-04-02T19:13:24","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T19:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/?p=3069"},"modified":"2019-04-02T19:13:27","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T19:13:27","slug":"think-waste-as-a-renewable-resource","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/?p=3069","title":{"rendered":"Think Waste as a Renewable Resource"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Landfills produce renewable energy from waste. <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When you think about \nrenewable energy, what comes to mind? Perhaps you picture wind turbines,\n solar panels or the underground loops of geothermal systems. What you \nmight overlook is a source derived from waste products \u2013 the stuff we \ndiscard every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If that\u2019s the case, you\u2019re not alone. Even though the Environmental \nProtection Agency (EPA) endorses landfill gas as a renewable source of \nenergy, right up there with wind and solar, it\u2019s not top-of-mind for \nmost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Waste Management, we think about transforming waste materials into energy every single day<\/em>. In fact, for decades we\u2019ve applied science with creative thinking and problem-solving to derive value from waste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re the largest landfill-gas-to-energy (LFGTE) developer and \noperator in North America. We operate 130 LFGTE projects at landfills \nacross the country, and we generate enough energy \u2013 more than 4.6 \nmillion megawatt-hours per year of capacity \u2013 to power 460,000 homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LFGTE process is proven, straightforward and efficient. An \nelaborate system of wells and pipes transports and processes landfill \ngas, which is a natural byproduct of waste decomposition. The gas is \nthen filtered and compressed so it is usable as fuel. From there, it\u2019s \ntransported to a nearby facility where it powers a set of engines \nconnected to an electrical grid, and sold to public utilities, municipal\n utilities and power cooperatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think Renewable Natural Gas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond power generation, we\u2019re also a leader in converting landfill \ngas into clean natural gas fuels that can be distributed for \nresidential, industrial and transportation use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renewable natural gas (RNG), or biomethane, is a pipeline-quality gas\n that is fully interchangeable with conventional natural gas and thus \ncan be used in natural gas vehicles. RNG is essentially biogas (the \ngaseous product of the decomposition of organic matter) that has been \nprocessed to specific purity standards. Like conventional natural gas, \nRNG can be used as a transportation fuel in the form of compressed \nnatural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG is natural gas in \nits purified and liquefied form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2018, we unveiled the latest addition to our RNG facilities \nat the Outer Loop Recycling and Disposal Facility in Louisville, \nKentucky. Using state-of-the art technology, the facility captures \nmethane and converts it to pipeline-quality natural gas. The Outer Loop \nfacility produces enough RNG each day to fuel about 800 of our CNG \ncollection trucks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also operate two other RNG facilities. At the Milam Landfill in \nEast St. Louis, Illinois, purified gas from the landfill is placed into \nthe Ameren Illinois pipeline. The facility produces about 13,600 diesel \ngallon equivalents (DGE) per day of RNG, enough to fuel about 620 of our\n CNG collection trucks. At the American Landfill RNG Facility in \nWaynesburg, Ohio purified gas from the landfill is placed into the \nDominion East Ohio pipeline. The facility produces about 3,600 diesel \ngallon equivalents (DGE) per day of RNG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, we have two more RNG projects under development at the \nSkyline Landfill in Ferris, Texas, with completion scheduled for Q4 \n2019, and the Williamson County Landfill in Hutto, Texas, with \ncompletion scheduled for Q1 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Linde North America, WM pioneered our first facility to produce \nnatural gas from landfill gas.  Our Altamont Landfill in Livermore, \nCalifornia, and has produced renewable liquefied natural gas (LNG) since\n 2009. Landfill gas at the Altamont Landfill is captured and converted \ninto RNG. Our fleet of transfer trucks traveling between our Davis \nStreet Transfer Station and the landfill are fueled exclusively with \nthis renewable fuel! The facility creates 6,300 gallons per day of RNG \nor about 3,750 diesel gallon equivalents (DGE) per day, enough to fuel \nabout 170 of our CNG collection trucks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natural gas produced from landfill gas now fuels 32 percent of our natural gas trucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think Solar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to our clean energy word association game. When you hear solar, \ndo landfills come to mind? Well, they should, because the sizable \ngeographic footprint of landfills and their proximity to existing \ninfrastructure make them ideal locations for large-scale solar \ninstallation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EPA recognizes and promotes the application of solar through its \nRE-Powering America\u2019s Land initiative encouraging renewable energy \ndevelopment on contaminated lands, landfills and mine sites. At Waste \nManagement\u2019s closed L&D Landfill site in New Jersey, Public Service \nElectric and Gas Company (PSE&G) constructed one of the largest \nlandfill-based solar farm projects in the country. In Massachusetts, we \ncollaborated with two project developers and the state Department of \nEnvironmental Protection to install four solar farms on closed \nlandfills. PSE&G is also finalizing the commissioning of a solar \nfarm at Waste Management\u2019s closed site at Cinnaminson in New Jersey. \nThis year, we\u2019re also planning to deploy solar on some of our facilities\n in California. These projects add up and translate to more than 50 MW \nand growing of power utilizing solar!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these innovative technologies are transforming waste stream materials into high-value resources. That\u2019s what we do at Waste Management \u2013 and how we think differently about renewable energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article by Jim Fish – CEO of Waste Management Inc<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read original post: https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/think-waste-renewable-resource-jim-fish\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you think about renewable energy, what comes to mind? Perhaps you picture wind turbines, solar panels or the underground loops of geothermal systems. What you might overlook is a source derived from waste products \u2013 the stuff we discard every day. If that\u2019s the case, you\u2019re not alone. Even though the Environmental Protection Agency […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1391,1478,855,1546,1547,1548],"class_list":["post-3069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-landfill-gas","tag-landfill-gas-to-energy","tag-landfills","tag-lfg","tag-recycling-energy","tag-value-of-landfills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3069"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3075,"href":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3069\/revisions\/3075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ensoplastics.com\/theblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}