The Morning Call, Inc., Copyright 12/06/06 

Methane from IESI Waste will be Burned to Generate Electricity 

By Steve Esack Of The Morning Call 

Your garbage will soon be put back to use at a landfill in Lower Saucon Township.

The state Department of Environmental Protection granted approval Tuesday for the construction of an energy plant that will convert methane gas into electricity at IESI Corp. landfill on Apple Butter Road. 

DEP's air quality and waste management permits were the last governmental hurdle Bethlehem Renewable Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Virginia's Pepco Energy Services, needed to build the plant, which will produce enough power to light 4,500 homes while slightly reducing dependence on foreign oil.

''It's a good thing, and the state definitely feels it is,'' Lower Saucon Township Councilman Ron Horiszny said. ''The state is trying to make Pennsylvania a user of renewable energy, and now the township will be contributing to that.''

Sam Donato, IESI's state district manager, and Pepco spokeswoman Kim Price could not be reached to comment on when construction will begin.

Horiszny said the companies have all the permits they need and, weather permitting, can start building at any time.

Rotting trash in landfills creates an ozone-depleting greenhouse gas composed of about 60 percent methane and 40 percent carbon dioxide. It can smell like rotten eggs. Typically it is burned through a superheated flare instead of being recaptured to create an alternative fuel. IESI Corp.'s flare is hidden in a silver tank on a hill above Apple Butter Road.

''The flare is currently used to control the gas,'' said DEP spokesman Mark Carmon. ''The approval was the final approval for construction.''

Once the plant is up and running, DEP will perform stack tests, similar to inspections at cement-making plants in the Lehigh Valley, to make sure Bethlehem Renewable Energy is operating at legally acceptable air-quality levels.

Carmon estimates the Lower Saucon plant will create 5.7 megawatts of electricity, which each year will offset the need for burning 6,400 tons of coal and 28,500 barrels of oil. The generated electricity will be sold to the power grid and to customers.

In April, Lower Saucon council gave its OK by approving preliminary plans to build one combustion engine to process up to 2,300 cubic feet of methane a minute through pipes that capture the gas and direct them to the engine. That approval came after the township had rejected earlier plans to build four to five combustion engines.

Joris Rosse, a member of the steering committee of the Alliance for Sustainable Communities-Lehigh Valley, applauded DEP's approval. The nonprofit alliance promotes alternative energy sources. But Rosse cautioned that landfill gas is often polluted with other chemicals, and it must be properly treated to avoid more harm than good.

''Generally speaking, energy conservation is a very positive idea,'' Rosse said. ''The methane is generated automatically. It's not good for it to just go into the atmosphere. So anything that uses methane in a safe manner is to be highly applauded.''