There is a project underway in the Milwaukee area to connect a pipeline from a suburban landfill to the Jones Island Sewage treatment plant. This pipeline will carry methane gas from the landfill to the plant, which will be used to supply low cost alternative fuel.
Http://dailyreporter.com/blog/2010/03/11/methane-pipeline-project-would-connect-jones-island-muskego-landfill/
This is a great idea, I am not sure why this has not been a top priority on the stimulus bill. It has been suggested many times before.
Most large cities use the suburbs to dump their garbage in landfills. If you look at the typical layout of suburban cities, towns and villages you will find the majority of these landfills are surrounded by commercial buildings and factories that require huge amounts of energy. Methane gas produced by landfills could be a reliable source of alternative energy. Today the gases are vented out to the atmosphere. This resource is being wasted.
If these gases were used to supply power to factories near by, it would help to lower the price of natural gas for other customers. It would drastically lower the cost of energy for the factories using the methane gas.
Where to get the money for such projects? From the energy company profits. If businesses are required to chip in, we need a plan to provide low, or interest free business loans. The amount should not exceed the pay back in energy cost saving over a 5 or 10 year period. After that, the companies would enjoy low cost alternative energy for years after the landfill has been closed. Hence, the investment will pay for itself, if we do not allow the energy companies to take advantage of the situation by setting their own prices.
This may be an opportunity to create new businesses to compete with the monopoly the energy companies now posses. Another source of funding is the pay high taxes we pay on the energy we consume. It is only a matter of investing the money where it will do the most good.
300 new jobs for a year.
Jobs created to date: 4020
Rental Solutions Oahu - Honolulu, HI
Comments (1)Subscribe to CommentsComment