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Green Energy Facility in Ellenwood, DeKalb County, Georgia meeting energy needs while protecting the environment

Release Date: 12/08/2006
Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, [email protected]

(ATLANTA – December 8, 2006) EPA Deputy Regional Administrator Stan Meiburg, DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones and Congressman-Elect Hank Johnson, Jr. joined the Sanitation Division of the DeKalb County Public Works Department to celebrate the opening of its Green Energy Facility at the Seminole Landfill in Ellenwood, DeKalb County, Georgia. This is one of the first projects to supply power to Georgia Power under its new green energy program. The Seminole Landfill is the second largest active municipal solid waste landfill in Georgia.

"This project allows DeKalb County to take a wasted source of energy and use it to generate electricity, which benefits the environment and area residents through lower emissions,” said Stan Meiburg, EPA Deputy Regional Administrator in Atlanta.

The DeKalb Sanitation Division is capturing gas from the Seminole Landfill to create electricity in an innovative approach to meet energy needs and address current environmental challenges. The Green Energy Facility currently produces 3.2 Mega Watts per hour, providing enough electricity to power more than 2,000 homes. In the early stages of the green energy program, Georgia Power will use methane gas created by the decay of landfill waste as its primary form of biomass energy. This project will offset fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions of 17,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year, the equivalent to removing emissions from 3,300 vehicles on the nation’s roads, reducing oil consumption by 40,000 barrels, or planting 4,700 acres of forest.

EPA has been involved in the DeKalb County project for several years. EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) conducted a gas generation analysis of the landfill for DeKalb County, advertised the County’s Request for Proposals for a landfill gas firm on the LMOP listserv, and selected the landfill for promotion during the 2005 LMOP Project Expo. In addition, LMOP provided technical assistance to Georgia Power in establishing criteria for its green power program. DeKalb County is a Community Partner of LMOP.

The LMOP is a voluntary assistance and partnership program that promotes the use of landfill gas as a renewable, green energy source. Landfill gas is the natural by-product of the decomposition of solid waste in landfills and is comprised primarily of carbon dioxide and methane. By preventing emissions of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) through the development of landfill gas energy projects, LMOP helps businesses, states, energy providers, and communities protect the environment and build a sustainable future.