PPL Completes Methane-to-Electricity Project At Lancaster County Landfill
PPL, which owns and operates the plant, buys methane gas daily from the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority and uses the gas to power two Caterpillar generators. PPL then sells the power into the PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity throughout seven states and the District of Columbia. Power from the landfill produces enough electricity to supply 4,000 homes.
At a dedication ceremony today at the Manor Township plant, representatives from PPL's distributed generation and energy services subsidiary said that PPL also will sell heat – a byproduct of the process – to the adjacent Turkey Hill Dairy. The amount represents about 85 percent of the thermal energy the dairy uses in its operations, and substantially reduces its boiler emissions and fuel-oil use.
"PPL is pleased to partner with the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, Turkey Hill Dairy and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania to be part of a green energy project that reduces methane, a major greenhouse gas," said Paul T. Champagne, president-PPL EnergyPlus. "We are excited to be part of an effort to bring renewable technology and associated projects to Pennsylvania."
Champagne noted that the Lancaster County project will be one of a number of PPL initiatives used to meet standards established by Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, which require that a percentage of the electricity delivered to Pennsylvanians be from alternative and renewable resources.
Demonstrating its commitment to the environment, PPL is developing or has developed other clean and renewable energy projects in the Northeast, including the installation of fuel cells, microturbines, photovoltaics and natural gas engines for a variety of customers.
SOURCE: PPL