Gas-to-energy generators recycle waste at Resource Recovery Complex
By: Stephanie Prokop
MANSFIELDOne man’s trash is another man’s … energy?
The Resource Recovery Complex is doing just that recovering a viable means of power from something that would normally be considered waste, with three generators that were started on Aug. 10 at Burlington County’s methane-to-electric generating plant.
Mary Pat Robbie, the director of operations at the landfill, said Monday that three out of five engines were running, although they are still "getting aligned and attuned and tweaked," since they just started on Friday.
The five machines where purchased by the county with approximately $1.5 million financed through grants through the Department of Environmental Protection.
Startup of the last two engines is scheduled by the end of the month, according to the county.
Ms. Robbie said she regretted not being at the actual "flipping of the switch" to turn on the engine, because she would have announced to the freeholders, "Gentlemen, start your engines."
According to county officials, a 6,500-square-foot building is being constructed around the five large Jenbacher engine-generator sets. Each engine is 25 feet long, over 7 feet tall and 6 feet wide, weighing 16 tons with 2,000 horsepower and 1,425 kilowatt electric output.
Each engine cost about $223,000, and they are what Ms. Robbie refers to as "standard internal reciprocating engines," which basically filter methane gases directly from the landfill and are able to provide electricity to approximately 8,000 houses.
The plant is being constructed behind the landfill under an agreement between the county and DCO Energy and subcontractor Joseph Jingoli & Son, Inc.
Electricity from the facility will be provided at no cost for operation of the solid waste processing and disposal facilities at the complex, representing an annual savings of about $572,000. In addition, the county is guaranteed to receive annual revenues of $1.75 million from the sale of electricity and other electrical products, such as renewable energy credits.
The plant will reuse clean renewable resources and is expected to produce more than $60 million in net revenues over 20 years, according to the county. Most of the proceeds will come from the sale of electricity. Once completed, the plant is expected to generate 7.1 megawatts per hour.
Because of the "green energy" aspect of the project, the county is also expected to qualify for and receive a total $4.7 million in state grants.
Ms. Robbie said she thinks that in addition to the facility in place at the Mansfield location, the engines are being seen at similar landfill locations throughout the state.
"We’re seeing a lot of these facilities in Essex County, where they have traditional co-generation machines, where you take natural gas and convert that into electricity."