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A Provo engineering firm is seeking financing to help build a $2 million, 1.3 megawatt plant powered by methane gas from the Bayview landfill in Elberta.
CCI Inc. on Monday said the 85-acre landfill, operated by the South Utah Valley Solid Waste District, could produce enough gas to generate electricity for 1,200 Utah homes. The Bayview landfill, which was opened by Provo in 1991 after the East Bay landfill closed, is now operated by several Utah County cities including Provo.
Construction of the plant, to be located 5 miles north of Elberta on Highway 68, is expected to start this winter and is scheduled to be completed by spring 2009.
"We're hoping to start installing piping and plumbing systems to harness the methane gas, which is the second largest man-made gas that contributes to global warming," said Ken Merrell, president of CCI. When completed, the plant could generate about $360,000 in net revenues annually, he said.
CCI plans to sell the power to Rocky Mountain Power, which will in turn distribute the power to a six-state grid that includes Utah. Rocky Mountain is part of PacifiCorp, which has a total of about 1.7 million customers in Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California and 758,000 customers in Utah.
"Rocky Mountain's program puts us automatically on their grid, but we're also hoping to sell power to Santaquin or Elberta or to the other cities in the South Valley Solid Waste District in the future," Merrell said.
Jake Merrell, Ken's son and vice president of CCI, expects the plant to generate up to 3 megawatts of power in a few years as the Bayview landfill expands.
"After we drill wells, we will have a better idea of the landfill's power potential," he said. "As the landfill grows we will increase the power production from the site. We are currently talking to other Utah landfills to promote projects like this one that are beneficial to the environment and will provide a savings to taxpayers by cutting the cost of government services."
Utah Sen. Darin Peterson, R-Nephi, is one of several legislators supporting the project.
"By utilizing an underdeveloped resource produced right here, we are tapping into a fuel that is clean, cheap and available to help us meet our electricity needs," he said.
Merrell said he believes the project should help save taxpayers money.
"The site does not have an existing collection system for methane gas and will be required to do so by 2010. If we don't harness the gas for power generation, the landfill district will be required to drill wells and burn the gas. That would cost the taxpayers money," he said.
But Merrell said it's been a challenge getting bank financing for the project because "it lacks significant tangible assets."
He said Pepsi Bottling Co. of New York, which has a bottling plant in Salt Lake City, is a potential investor.
"We really hope to find a few local businesses who would like to go green and partner up with us in this endeavor," Merrell said. "If we can get at least one investor with $1 million, that's enough to get us started." |
