Will County and Waste Management Announce Joint Plan to Develop Green Energy Plant at Prairie View Landfill
21 Mai 2009 - 11:45PM
PR Newswire (US)
JOLIET, Ill., May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Officials of Will
County and Waste Management of Illinois, Inc. today announced a
plan to jointly develop a landfill gas-to-energy plant at the
Prairie View Recycling and Disposal Facility near Wilmington.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090402/NY93570LOGO-b)
County Executive Larry Walsh, county board chairman Jim Moustis,
and Steve Batchelor, Waste Management vice president and market
area manager, made the announcement. Under plans announced today,
Will County and Waste Management will enter into an agreement to
develop a landfill gas-to-energy plant at the facility, which will
generate electricity that is distributed over the area's electrical
grid. Waste Management will build and operate the facility, which
could be in operation by the end of 2010. Will County said it
intends to apply for federal economic stimulus funds earmarked for
renewable energy projects to help finance the project. Once the
grant process is complete, Will County anticipates putting at least
$1 million in stimulus funds toward the project. The Prairie View
landfill is owned by the County and is its primary waste disposal
facility. Waste Management operates the site under a long-term
agreement. It opened in January 2004. Walsh said, "The landfill
gas-to-energy plant is another example of Will County's efforts to
promote a greener environment by creating an alternative energy
source locally. "The County offers many opportunities for residents
and businesses to recycle their waste, thus saving energy and
natural resources. This project will create a non-fossil fuel
energy source and also provide many local construction jobs for a
project that will benefit Will County and its residents for many
years to come." Moustis said, "Here again is an advantage of owning
our landfill and partnering with Waste Management. Now not only do
we have a place to put our solid waste, but we're going to be able
to produce gas-to-energy. "This advancement goes along with our
goals of being as green as possible," Moustis continued. "And,
happily, it appears the facility will be up and running sooner than
we had anticipated, as our original target date was 2012." Waste
Management pioneered landfill gas-to-energy technology in North
America more than 20 years ago and some of its earliest plants were
in Illinois. The Company now has more than 100 landfill
gas-to-energy projects at its landfills, which produce the
equivalent of almost 500 megawatts of power, enough to meet the
energy needs of about 400,000 homes. Its 11 Illinois plants
generate 41.5 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power more than
35,000 homes and replace the equivalent of more than 150,000 tons
of coal per year. Waste Management announced plans in 2007 to add
60 such plants to its network by 2013, and is on track to achieve
that goal. "Landfill gas-to-energy plants are a source of reliable,
clean, renewable energy," Batchelor said. "They provide an
environmentally responsible way to harness the gas generated by the
waste we all generate, and allow us to put it to good use as green
power for our homes and businesses. This is another example of our
commitment to Will County to be partners in progress concerning new
and emerging technologies." The Company estimates that the initial
landfill gas-to-energy facility will consist of three to four
reciprocating engines, which will produce 2.4 to 3.2 megawatts of
power. The projected electrical output of more than 18 million
kilowatt hours a year will be delivered to the ComEd distribution
lines, and is enough to meet the needs of more than 2,000 Will
County households. Landfill gas is a natural byproduct of
decomposing wastes buried in landfills. The primary gases are
approximately equal parts of carbon dioxide and methane. Waste
Management has constructed the Prairie View landfill's gas recovery
system as it has developed the facility. The system includes a
series of gas collection wells drilled into the buried wastes. The
wells are connected to a network of pipes attached to a vacuum
source that draws the gas from the landfill. The recovered gas is
currently being burned in a flare, but will be used as fuel to
drive engines to generate electricity when the power plant is
completed. Batchelor said the plant will be scalable depending on
the volume of gas generated by the facility. As waste is placed in
the landfill, the level of gas increases, so engines can be added
to consume the gas to drive power generation. After the landfill
closes, the gas volume declines, so fewer engines may be required.
In recent years, the public's awareness of environmental issues and
an increasing emphasis on the development of alternative energy
sources have heightened a demand for new sources of renewable
energy. Batchelor said landfill-gas-to-energy projects are valuable
because they provide reliable levels of power and help to offset
power generated by fossil fuels. About Will County Will County is
one of the fastest growing counties in Illinois and, indeed, the
nation. While the 11th largest in size in Illinois, it is on track
to become the second largest in population. Will County is governed
by the County Executive system, which mirrors the federal system.
It is the only County in Illinois under this form of government.
Nestled against the southern edge of Cook and DuPage counties, it
encompasses 845 square miles. It is bordered on the east by Cook
County and Indiana; on the south by Kankakee County, and on the
west by Grundy and Kendall counties. Joliet, one of 36
municipalities in the county, is the county seat. The heart of
Joliet is 40 miles southwest of Chicago and about 165 miles from
Springfield. About Waste Management Waste Management of Illinois,
Inc. is a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. Based in Houston,
Texas, Waste Management, Inc. is the leading provider of
comprehensive waste management services in North America. Our
subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource
recovery, and disposal services. We are also the largest
residential recycler and a leading developer, operator and owner of
waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United
States. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial,
and municipal customers throughout North America. For more
information, visit http://www.wm.com/ or http://www.thinkgreen.com/
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090402/NY93570LOGO-b
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Waste Management, Inc.
CONTACT: Tammy Reiher, Public Information Officer of Will County,
+1-815-774-7485; or Bill Plunkett of Waste Management,
+1-708-751-8701 Web Site: http://www.wm.com/
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