Dive Summary
- The United States Marine Corp is using a landfill-gas-to-energy facility to help power a base in Georgia.
- The new facility, which produces 1.9 megawatts of power, was completed last year and has already reduced external power consumption by 30%.
- New technology is first of its kind in the Department of Navy. At full capacity, the base is expected to eliminate 19,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
From the article:
A $20 million generator plant in Georgia converts methane gas seeping up from the local landfill into steam and power for the energy needs of Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany.
The plant, part of a landfill-gas-to-energy project in which MCLB-Albany partnered with Dougherty County, opened on base in September 2011. In June, the base exceeded the Corps’ plan to reduce base energy consumption by 30 percent. Eddie Hunt, installation energy manager, projects that by the end of the year the base will save more than 19,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. “That’s equivalent to taking 16,000 cars off the road,” he told Marine Corps Times.
Before the base sees savings, the methane must go through a conversion process. Methane gas is first collected from the landfill through a vacuum.
