Georgia Power, Georgia Waste To Energy Strike Deal on Electricity Produced from Landfill Waste
April 03 2008 - 9:43AM
PR Newswire (US)
ATLANTA, April 3, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- With the ink barely dry on
its last renewable energy contract, Georgia Power has now signed a
long-term contract with another independent renewable generator
that will produce electricity from landfill waste. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050216/CLW066LOGO ) Georgia
Power and Georgia Waste To Energy Cedar Grove LLC, in partnership
with America's Waste To Energy, penned a 10-year deal for
electricity that will be generated from everyday household trash.
The power will come from the Cedar Grove gasification facility in
Barnesville, Ga. The material used to make electricity will come
from household garbage delivered to the Lamar County Regional Solid
Waste Landfill. The Cedar Grove facility initially will produce six
megawatts of renewable energy annually and plans to expand its
generation capacity to 18 megawatts within the year. Under the
contract, Georgia Power will purchase 100 percent of the plant's
capacity. One megawatt is enough energy to supply a Super Target
store or approximately 250 Georgia residences. This marks the first
contract Georgia Power has signed for electricity generated through
a gasification process. Gasification is the process in which a
carbon-based, high-caloric material also known as "municipal solid
waste" (MSW) (i.e., anything other than glass, masonry, or metals)
goes through a thermal transformation process in an oxygen-deprived
environment and is then converted into a variety of products such
as inert ash, various chemicals, synthesis gas (syngas) and steam.
This process will not only produce renewable generation, it will
also clean the existing landfill. "By tapping into the power of
biomass gasification to make electricity, Georgia Power is not only
doing what's good for the environment but is also continuing to
diversify its expanding renewable portfolio throughout the state,"
said Jeff Burleson, director of Resource Policy and Planning. "This
agreement essentially allows us to market the Biosphere system
directly to cities, counties and governmental entities that are
interested in landfill reclamation and utility generation," said
Douglas Scott, managing member of GW2E. "The product's ability to
create a zero waste environment will give municipalities the
ability to solve their environmental concerns while providing clean
water and electricity to their communities." Georgia Power also
currently purchases approximately 22,500 annual megawatt-hours from
a landfill methane gas plant in DeKalb County that produces
electricity from household waste, nearly 90 percent of which has
become part of the company's Green Energy program. With the
addition of this contract, Georgia Power's energy portfolio
includes contracts with seven qualified biomass and renewable
facilities throughout the state that will generate 136 megawatts of
capacity, or enough renewable energy to power more than 34,000
homes. These contracts include electricity generated from wood
waste, landfill methane gas and hydro. Georgia Power also buys
energy from eight other renewable sources when available. AMERICA'S
WASTE TO ENERGY partner, Global Environmental Energy Corp. (GEECF),
is a fully integrated energy company whose interests include
electrical power generation, oil and gas exploration and
production, clean coal and waste management technologies. GEECF is
publicly traded in Europe and the United States (Deutsche Borse:
GLI, OTC Bulletin Board: GEECF) and maintains a Web site at
http://www.geecf.ru/. Georgia Power is working to increase its
renewable energy portfolio both through the purchase of energy from
renewable generators and through investments in self-owned
renewable generation. Additionally, Georgia Power will invest $43
million annually in 18 different demand response and energy
efficiency programs, including six new programs recently approved
by the Georgia Public Service Commission. These programs are
expected to reduce electricity demand by 1,000 megawatts by 2010.
Over the past two years, through promotion of the Change a Light
campaign, Georgia Power has distributed more than 200,000 compact
fluorescent light bulbs to consumers across Georgia who have
pledged to change at least one standard light bulb in their home to
a compact fluorescent bulb. As a leader in the nation for ENERGY
STAR Change a Light pledges, Georgia Power received the 2007
Excellence in ENERGY STAR Promotion Award. Georgia Power is the
largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation's largest
generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned,
tax-paying utility with rates well below the national average.
Georgia Power serves 2.3 million customers in all but four of
Georgia's 159 counties.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050216/CLW066LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Georgia Power CONTACT: Lynn
Wallace of Georgia Power, +1-404-506-7676, +1-800-282-1696, Web
site: http://www.georgiapower.com/
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