Plant dedication held at landfill (8/26/05)

A partnership that is helping turn an unpleasant byproduct of ordinary trash into power for area homes was celebrated Thursday afternoon at the Jay County Landfill.

A dedication ceremony for a methane gas-powered electricity generating plant was held, with representatives from the local landfill, a local electric cooperative and a state cooperative power generating company on hand, along with a variety of other local officials.

The plant, which has been cranking out electricity at a rate of just under 3.2 megawatts per day since it was fired up in April, is powered by methane gas generated from decomposing trash in the landfill. The electricity produced is enough to supply power to approximately 2,600 homes.

The plant, which is being called the Jay County EnviroWatts Landfill Gas Generating Plant, is owned by Wabash Valley Power Association; supervised and maintained by landfill owner Waste Management of Indiana; and the electricity is fed into the supply grid of Jay County REMC.

Prior to the plant’s opening, the gas collected was burned off via a large flare near the landfill office on county road 400 South, just east of Ind. 67.

“As an engineer, it always bugged me to see that energy go up in the air,” Jim Davis, director of operations for Waste Management of Indiana, said Thursday. “It’s a big step in the right direction. We need more and more renewable resources.”

The local partnership between WVPA and Waste Management is not unique. The two entities have partnered on seven methane gas generating plants across Indiana.

John Nill, president and CEO of Jay County REMC, reiterated Thursday that the plant does not mean lower electric bills for local residents. But he said because the generating plant is closer to the end user, it will mean a more reliable supply of electricity.

“We could have really used it during the (January) ice storm,” he said in brief remarks to the crowd of 25 to 30 gathered.

Also lauding the partnership between the three entities was Keith Thompson, vice president of power production for Wabash Valley Power Association, a not-for-profit owned by 27 electric cooperatives, including Jay County REMC.

Among those in attendance at Thursday’s event were District 33 State Rep. Bill Davis (R-Portland) Marilyn Coleman, Jim Zimmerman and Jack Houck from the Jay County Council, Jay County auditor Freda Corwin, along with members from the local REMC Board of Directors and other local residents.

The building and equipment at the plant, which is located behind a large berm just east of the landfill office, are valued at approximately $3 million. Wabash Valley received a 10-year tax abatement, or phase-in, on the new property taxes due on the building, and a five-year abatement on the four 3,000-horsepower generators and other equipment valued at $2.4 million.

The methane gas collected via wells drilled into the landfill is a lower quality and has a lower Btu value than natural gas. The methane is compressed and has moisture removed before it is piped into the generators.[[In-content Ad]]