Ameresco Unveils New Landfill Energy Plant

Ameresco built and owns the system, which will generate 750 kilowatts of electricity per hour. The energy will come from gas created at the landfill through the decomposition of organic materials.

The electric output from the plant is being sold to Silicon Valley Power, the municipal electric utility for the city.

"Anytime we can turn waste into something useful we should take that opportunity, and this project is a perfect example," said Patricia M. Mahan, Mayor of the City of Santa Clara. "Our customers are very interested in green power. In fact, the City of Santa Clara is the third largest EPA Green Power community in the nation, and we are continuing to add renewable energy resources to our already extensive portfolio."

The decomposition of the organic material is captured and then consumed in three Ingersoll Rand MT250 microturbines to generate the electricity for Silicon Valley Power.