Cooperative dedicates landfill gas to energy facility

Engineers from Wabash Valley Power, Waste Management, P.E. MacAllister and Edwards-Rigdon Construction proudly stand in WVPA’s 14th landfill gas-to-energy facility.

Waste Management of Indiana, LLC, Wabash Valley Power Association and Hendricks Power Cooperative recently dedicated a renewable energy generation ­facility that uses gas from landfill waste to generate electricity. Wabash Valley provides wholesale energy to three Illinois electric distribution cooperatives.

The celebration marks the com­pletion of the fourth landfill gas-to-energy plant at the Twin Bridges Recycling and Disposal Facility. With the addition of the 3.2 megawatts of power from Twin Bridges IV, the site now generates the equivalent amount of electricity to power approximately 14,000 homes.

“In 2007, our board of directors set a goal to increase our ownership of diverse fuel resources,” explained Greg Wagoner, Vice President of Business Development, Wabash Valley Power. “Yet while we want to be pro­active in our pursuit of that goal, we remain committed to the delivery of ­affordable, reliable power to our member cooperatives. Our partnership with Waste Management of Indiana is instrumental in this process.”

Fuel for the Twin Bridges landfill gas-to-energy facility is derived from wastes buried in the landfill, which generate methane gas. A network of recovery wells and pipes control and collect the methane and convey it to an on-site power plant. There the gas is condensed, purified and used as fuel to drive engines that, in turn, drive electricity generators.