Ameresco, designed, built and owns the system, which will generate 750kW of green electricity per hour. The energy will come from gas created at the landfill through the decomposition of organic materials.
The electric output from the plant is being sold to Silicon Valley Power, the municipal electric utility for the city. It will produce electricity to power more than 477 homes, while reducing emissions equivalent to the planting of nearly 996 acres of pine or fir forest, and is expected to save half a million gallons of gas annually.
The decomposition of the organic material is captured and then consumed in three Ingersoll Rand MT250 microturbines to generate the electricity for Silicon Valley Power.
The City of Santa Clara has contracted to recover and convert landfill gas from its closed municipal landfill to generate electricity. The newly constructed Ameresco Landfill gas-to-energy project will help the City Council’s commitment to develop sustainable, renewable energy and green power sources for the Santa Clara community and its electric utility customers.
Michael Bakas, vice president at Ameresco, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with the City of Santa Clara on this innovative project that harnesses a naturally occurring resource into a valuable source of clean energy.”
Patricia Mahan, mayor of the City of Santa Clara, said: “Anytime we can turn waste into something useful we should take that opportunity, and this project is a perfect example.In fact, the City of Santa Clara is the third largest EPA Green Power community in the nation, and we are continuing to add renewable energy resources to our already extensive portfolio.”
