Methane-fired power plant to open in Worcester County

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jul 9, 2008 by Anne Riley

Baltimore-based power generation company Curtis Engine & Equipment Inc. and Worcester County have teamed up to prove the age- old idiom that one man's trash is another man's treasure by opening the Eastern Shore's first methane power plant -- a structure that converts landfill gases into viable electricity.

Trip Harrison, co-owner of Curtis Engine, said the $3.5 million project, which is slated to begin production Wednesday, works by capturing harmful methane emissions from solid waste landfills and using the gases to power engines that generate electricity.

"Methane is a greenhouse gas and it contributes to global warming, so by us capturing it and destroying it and using those engines to create electricity, No. 1 -- we destroy a pollutant, and No. 2 -- we're offsetting other greenhouse gases that would have been used to produce electricity with oil or coal," Harrison said.

The plant, located in Newark, is the first of its kind in the county and the fifth in the state, according to information on the EPA's Web site.

Although methane plants are gaining popularity for their use of renewable energy sources, according to Harrison, there exist very few nationwide because the plants are often small-scale, making the electricity they produce more expensive. However, as electricity prices soar, Harrison said, such plants have recently become more economically feasible.

The new plant will provide electricity for up to 2,700 homes in the Worcester County area, according to Curtis Engine co-owner Al Grimes. Additional electricity will be sold to Old Dominion Electric Cooperative's grid and distributed throughout the Delmarva region, according to a news release.

While the plant will begin operation with only one generator, a second and third generator will be installed within the next year, Harrison said. By the time the third generator is completed, the cost of the project will total $5 million, he said.

Grimes said that the plant is scheduled to operate until 2045, at which time the landfill gases will no longer be released at optimal volume.

According to Kim Moses, public information officer for Worcester County, the construction of the plant is a good move both economically and environmentally for the county.

"We would have needed to install a gas collection system as a requirement of [the Maryland Department of the Environment], so the fact that they are interested in doing this as a business deal is fantastic," Moses said.

According to Grimes, installing a gas-collection system as part of the plant construction instead of doing it later as a requirement saved the county about $1 million.

"That's a very good saving on their part because they would have had to eventually put the system in anyway," Grimes said.

Olivia Campbell, spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, said "the state is greatly appreciative to the local government and the local business partners for making this renewable energy project a reality.

"Projects like this are an example of what we can do when people work together to create a sustainable society," Campbell added. "The local community and businesses came together and took a challenge and turned it into an opportunity."