Siemens and SISW announce commissioning of landfill gas-to-energy project

Siemens’ gas capture engines are helping to convert 1000 t of landfill waste daily into energy but SISW officials expect that amount to increase in the near future.

Decomposing waste gives off massive amounts of greenhouse gases, especially methane. SISW engineers worked with Siemens and Siemens’ channel partner, Industrial-Irrigation Services, to develop a solution that would capture the methane for use as a fuel gas to produce electricity. “We saw this gas and realised we were just wasting it by burning it for no productive use,” said SISW’s environmental manager, Nate Francisco.

To capture methane and convert it into electricity, the Milner Butte Landfill deployed two Siemens SGE-56HM gas generator sets to run on the waste gas from the landfill and generate electrical power. Once the landfill gas is converted to electricity, it is transported to Idaho Power through a 20-year purchase agreement and is used by the community as a source of power. To date, the two engines have been generating enough power for approximately 2000 homes. Each set is rated at 1300 kWe and includes generator controls and a power panel.

SISW estimates that within the next 20 years the facility will generate approximately US$36 million in revenue, netting about a third of that after costs and inflation.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/clean-fuels/02102018/siemens-and-sisw-announce-commissioning-of-landfill-gas-to-energy-project/