A city pilot project to spin trash into energy treasure will begin this month.
The Shepard landfill site will receive Calgary's first electricity-generating turbine of its kind in what city officials expect will be the beginning of a march toward harnessing the fruits of rotting garbage.
"We're certainly keen to capture this and do something with it," said Dave Griffiths, GM of the city's waste and recycling services.
What the turbines will capture is methane gas produced from decomposing trash that's normally flared off to prevent it from adding to the greenhouse gases in the environment.
"The methane contributes greenhouse gases at a rate 23 times greater than CO2," said Griffiths.
It's believed the refrigerator-size turbine units -- worth about $60,000 apiece -- would each produce enough energy to power 20 homes. The initiative is a partnership between Enmax and newly formed energy giant Encana.
Test wells drilled 10 metres deep into the city's three landfill sites have determined the garbage gases contain 40% to 60% methane gas -- a rich enough mixture to justify a much more ambitious drive for trash electricity, said Griffiths.
The goal is to fully harness the three landfill sites on 200 hectares in the next few years, which could ultimately produce enough energy to light 4,000 homes, but would first be used to power city facilities.
Griffiths said the city hopes to win approval this spring of $6 million in funding from a federal infrastructure program focusing on environmental initiatives to fuel the project.
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