From the Associated Press via the Casper Star Tribune
MURRAY, Utah (AP) -- By the end of the year, decaying garbage at the Salt Lake City-County landfill will be helping provide electricity to homes and businesses in Murray.
The rotting garbage produces methane, which, if released into the atmosphere contributes to global warming. Right now, the gas is "flared off" -- burned -- at the landfill.
"Sometimes you have to pay a little more to preserve the environment," said Murray Mayor Dan Snarr. "But it turns out to only cost (each customer) 45 cents more per year."
Murray, with a population of about 46,500, is the only Salt Lake Valley city to have its own power company.
"We determined to blend this with our other resources," said Gary Merrill, general manager of Murray City Power.
"We're not going out on a limb. There's no major expense involved," he said, pointing out that a private company will collect the methane and handle its conversion on site at the landfill. "Customers will see an increase of about 3.8 cents per month or 45 cents a year, worst-case."
At peak power consumption, Murray needs about 100 megawatts.
City officials are contracting with Salt Lake Energy Systems LLC for a flow of 3 megawatts of electricity over the next 10 years, generated from the methane from the Salt Lake Valley Solid Waste Management Facility and transmitted across power lines to Murray.
"We recover the methane and generate it into electricity right next to where the flare is at the landfill," said Bill Owen, executive vice president of California-based Landfill Energy Systems, which partnered with Charles Loeher of Michigan-based DTE Energy to form Salt Lake Energy Systems.
The new company will install the equipment at the landfill to convert the methane into electricity. The startup costs amount to about $3.4 million, and Owen said he expects the Salt Lake project to be in place for 20 years.
Landfills in Layton and South Jordan also have projects under way to generate power from methane.
Layton's project will supply 1 megawatt to Hill Air Force Base, while the South Jordan site will help fuel the furnaces at nearby Interstate Brick Co.
As of December 2004, there were 380 landfill-gas projects in operation across the United States.
"(The country) is so dependent on natural gas and fossil fuels. The federal government will likely mandate the use of green power in the future," Snarr said.
"Then the price will probably go out of sight. We got on board early to take advantage of the 3 megawatts."
Source URL:
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2005/06/14/news
/regional/f40589dc79832d628725701f0070143a.txt
