City of San Leandro California to Turn Waste Into Energy and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Via New Cogeneration Plant From Sie
23 October 2008 - 4:38AM
PR Newswire (US)
Plant Will Recycle Methane Produced by Waste Water Treatment
Facilities BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
To help reduce energy use and help the environment, the City of San
Leandro, Calif. recently approved a contract with Siemens Building
Technologies, Inc., to build a 330-kilowatt cogeneration facility
at the City's Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP). Expected to
save 60 percent in plant energy use, the new power plant has the
potential to reduce CO2 emissions by 1,500 tons per year, or the
equivalent of planting 1,500 new trees. The new facility represents
a major step in helping the City meet its goal of reducing San
Leandro greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent below 2005 levels by
2020. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO) "Any way
you look at this project is a win-win," says San Leandro Mayor Tony
Santos. "We are cutting the City's energy costs, reducing the
City's impact on global warming; re-using a waste product, namely,
grease; and using only funding that is specifically dedicated for
this purpose, preserving our General Fund monies for critical city
programs. It is exciting to be at the forefront of cities taking on
this type of project and look forward to all the benefits it will
bring." The $5.6 million agreement with Siemens Building
Technologies includes design, construction and maintenance for the
cogeneration system. Project costs will be covered by WPCP
enterprise funds, which according to San Leandro officials are
collected annually from City sewer service fees and will be used
for maintaining and improving the plant. The new facility will also
take advantage of applicable rebates, including a $255,000
Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) rebate from local utility
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). "The City of San Leandro has
put themselves at the forefront of municipal sustainability and
energy-efficiency by embarking on this innovative renewable energy
project," says Mike Kearney, Sr. Director, U.S. Energy &
Environmental Solutions for Siemens Building Technologies. "Through
the conversion of waste-to-energy, this new cogeneration plant not
only takes advantage of local resources, it is kinder to the
environment -- through reduced greenhouse gas emissions -- and will
operate at a lower cost." The WPCP treats an average of 6 million
gallons per day of municipal and industrial wastewater and is the
largest single consumer of electrical energy of all City
facilities. Currently, the plant uses PG&E-supplied energy to
run wastewater treatment operations. The plant also produces some
96,000 cubic feet per day of methane gas (a greenhouse gas shown to
be 21 times more potent than CO2), most of which is burned off and
not re-used. The new co-generation facility will now use all the
methane gas to fuel specially designed reciprocating engines (large
internal combustion motors) to spin generators that will produce
the electricity needed to power the plant and treat the wastewater.
In addition, the heat produced by the reciprocating engines will be
recycled in effect and used to raise the temperature of the water
needed in the treatment process. This system is extremely efficient
because it uses normally discarded methane to create both
electrical energy and heat; hence, the term cogeneration. The
proposed facility features three major components: three
110-kilowatt generators that produce 285 kilowatts of continuous
electrical energy needed to power the plant; a gas conditioning
facility that cleans and cools the methane from the WPCP's digester
(making it suitable to fuel the reciprocating engines); and a
grease receiving station that will accept additional waste grease
from commercial waste haulers to enhance the digester process and
increase methane gas production. With the new system, not only will
the City be recycling grease from companies throughout the local
area, it will improve the performance and efficiency of the
generators while generating revenue from grease disposal fees.
Prior to construction, the project will require review and approval
by the City's Community Development Department and permits from the
Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Construction on the
facility should begin in late summer 2009, after the necessary
permits and reviews have been completed. As a leading provider of
energy and environmental solutions, building controls, fire safety
and security systems solutions, Siemens Building Technologies,
Inc., makes buildings comfortable, safe, secure and less costly to
operate. With U.S. headquarters in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Siemens
Building Technologies employs 7,400 people and provides a full
range of services and solutions from more than 100 locations
coast-to-coast. Worldwide, the company has 28,000 employees and
operates from more than 500 locations in 51 countries. For more
information on Siemens Building Technologies, visit:
http://www.usa.siemens.com/buildingtechnologies
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Siemens Building
Technologies, Inc. CONTACT: Steven E. Kuehn of Siemens,
+1-847-941-6047, Web Site: http://www.sbt.siemens.com/ Company News
On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/119040.html
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