Chautauqua County Methane-fired Power Plant Ribbon Cutting September 2nd. 2009

Construction on a $12 million methane-fired power plant at the Chautauqua County Landfill is complete and officials expect the plant to begin generating electricity by November or December.

 Elected officials, including U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and representatives of the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Department of Energy, gathered at the new plant on Wednesday morning to cut a ribbon officially opening the plant and welcome what County Executive Greg Edwards called ''a very bright future for Chautauqua County.''

 ''This is a big step toward that future,'' Edwards said.

 ''When I became county executive four years ago, the methane gas generated by our own landfill waste was the largest unutilized source of energy in the county - and it was energy that was, quite literally, going up in flames as we burned it off to eliminate the odor.''

 But now, Edwards said, that methane gas can now be converted into environmentally friendly electricity. The plant will generate 6.4 megawatts of electricity by burning methane gas it collects from four dozen capped garbage cells at the landfill. That's enough electricity to power 14,000 homes or 80,000 vehicles continuously for a year.

 ''Countless landfills burn away valuable energy,'' Schumer said. ''Here, we're putting it into generators and creating low-cost, clean electricity with it. That's going to make Chautauqua County a beacon. Hopefully, we can attract green industries here. This is America's future and today Chautauqua County has shown that they're willing to put their money where their mouth is and support green initiatives.''

Schumer, along with U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-South Buffalo, was instrumental in securing nearly $2.5 million from the federal government toward the plant's construction, which was complete in a record three months. The rest was covered by a 30-year bond.

Once National Grid completes construction and installation of a 5.5-mile power line from Bemus Point to the plant, the county plans to move the electricity generated to the grid and sell it, a move that's expected to generate about $2.2 million.

 ''I call this a green, green, green initiative,'' Edwards said. ''We're preventing a harmful gas from being emitted and turning into a greenhouse gas, we're producing clean energy and we're generating green that will allow us to continue efforts to lower taxes.''

The plant will use about 2,500 cubic feet of gas per minute to power four electric-generating engines - what seems like a large amount. But one pound of waste will generate methane gas for 20 years, Edwards said. Soon, Edwards said the county plans to open a dialogue with the state DEC to expand the plant and add more engines.

 Landfill waste doesn't generate pure methane, which means the county had to find a company that could separate the methane from the gas generated by landfill waste.

 Oakfield-based Innovative Energy Solutions was that company - and Pete Zeliff, its president and chief executive officer, says the plant presents Chautauqua County with ''a number of opportunities.''

For example, Zeliff said his company has 10 other similar projects in New York and Vermont. One plant uses the heat generated by the methane-burning engines to power a 12-acre greenhouse near Niagara Falls.

 That greenhouse, he said, employs 40 people and produces 6.5 million pounds of fresh tomatoes. ''The same kinds of opportunities exist here in Chautauqua County,'' Zeliff said. ''We can take the heat generated by our engines and use them to power a greenhouse or operate a kiln for lumber or any one of a number of different things. The opportunities are pretty exciting.''

Reprinted from  Post Journal

By Kristen Johnson