GE’s Jenbacher landfill gas engines generate 3.17MW of renewable electricity for the regional grid by utilizing the landfill’s methane gas. The facility is expected to generate enough energy to support about 1,800 North Carolina homes.
The company said that by capturing and using the gas in the Jenbacher engines to generate electricity, the city is able to reduce the landfill’s site emissions. Also increasing the production of renewable energy for the grid will help offset the use of fossil fuels traditionally used by utilities for baseload power generation.
Nixon Energy Solutions, GE’s official Jenbacher gas engine distributor for North Carolina, delivered and installed the Jenbacher units for Methane Power’s Durham plant. GE and Nixon Energy Solutions also will provide follow-up services, including parts and systems maintenance, for the entire operating life of the power plant.
Commissioned in October 2009, the Durham landfill gas project is the first of eight new US landfill gas plants that Methane Power plans to develop. Methane Power already has ordered three additional Jenbacher landfill gas engines that will be installed at two other sites in North Carolina.
Electricity generated by the Durham landfill energy plant is being sold to Duke Energy Carolinas under power purchase agreement.
