Project turns waste into power, food (Rutland Herald Article)
Article published Oct 31, 2010
By Susan Allen, Herald Correspondent
With the push of a computer button, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy recently launched a first-in-thenation project to generate electricity, food and heat from waste products. “We know Vermont’s never going to be a major player in national or global commodity-scale, agricultural or energy production,” Leahy said Monday, speaking to a small crowd gathered at the Windham Solid Waste Management District’s closed landfill as part of an event to kick off the first phase of the Brattleboro Carbon Harvest project. “But,” the senator added, “we might be the incentive for what they should be doing globally.” Carbon Harvest Energy LLC, based in Burlington, develops methane gas-to-energy projects, integrating agricultural systems to convert waste into usable products. The Brattleboro project, which is being completed in segments, will first produce 250 kilowatts of electricity and eventually another 310 kilowatts from waste-produced methane gas at the landfill, heat for a nearby 20,000 square-foot greenhouse and 30,000 gallon aquaculture facility to be constructed on the site, an algae farm to create biofuels, and more. Landfill gas, primarily methane, is generated by the decomposition of waste. Methane is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, but the Carbon Harvest project will eliminate emissions of methane by capturing it to produce electricity and heat. “When I was born, the world seemed infinite on resources. Now we realize that resources are limited,” said Carbon Harvest President Don McCormick, describing the motivation of his
company’s projects. He observed that, when he was born, there were about 3 billion people in the world to tap natural resources; today there are about 6.9 billion, and when his sons are grown there are expected to be 10 billion people using the world’s resources.
“The model of extract and deplete, consume and waste is broken,” McCormick said. McCormick stressed the importance of this project’s “systems” approach, where virtually nothing is wasted – and instead the waste is recycled to produce critical energy, heat, food and organic fertilizers. Leahy launched the initial phase of the project Monday, re-starting the generator to convert the landfill’s methane gas to electricity, which will be fed to the local power grid. The next step will be the installation of a cutting-edge combined heat and power (CHP) generation plant to produce about 310 kW of electricity, McCormick said.
The project also calls for a half-acre greenhouse that appears in site drawings to be comprised of four long sections with truck access for loading and unloading, heated from the CHP plant and producing 100 tons of fresh produce annually for the local market and the Vermont Foodbank.
In addition, the aquaculture section will grow tilapia, McCormick said. Water from the aquaculture will be cycled through the greenhouse to water the plants. In this process, aquaponics, the nutrient-rich water from the recirculating aquaculture system is filtered and then used to water and fertilize the plants, without the need for chemical fertilizers or pesticides. The company maintains that when completed, the entire project will remove the equivalent of
approximately 20,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. To see a schematic of how the project works, visit www.carbonharvestenergy.com and click on
the “Projects” prompt. John Sayles, chief executive officer of the Foodbank, said the fresh produce and fish — which provides protein — will be welcome. The Barre-based organization provides emergency food assistance for about 86,000 Vermonters annually through 280 food shelves, meals sites,
senior centers, shelters and after-school programs. The Foodbank opened a Brattleboro distribution center to serve the southern Vermont area.
Carbon Harvest worked with a team, including the University of Vermont Extension, to put together the complex project. The company also received funding from the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund and the Clean Energy Development Fund, and is partnering with the University of Vermont, Dartmouth College and Marlboro College on research and education programs.
“By nature, our projects are collaborations,” McCormick said, shortly before introducing several of the organizations and individuals who have been part of the project. Vern Grubinger of the UVM Extension said the produce would be carefully marketed to ensure this project does not create competition for local farmers. He said he hopes a portion of the site will become a hands-on facility for children to learn about sustainability and the ability to recycle waste to produce energy, food and more.
Acknowledging the role of the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School, Netaka White, Bioenergy Programs Director at Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, pointed to Dean Mary Watzin and her research team’s involvement. “This is an exciting collaboration between Carbon Harvest Energy and UVM,” White said. “Here we have leading-edge algae research with a commercial application. Their project will close the loop on the electric generation, with CO2 capture and sustainable biofuel production.” The landfill, which is located just off Exit 3 on I-91, was one of the nation’s first methane gasto-power plants in the 1980s, but McCormick noted that the project has ceased to operate in recent years.
Lou Bruso, chair of the solid waste district that represents 19 local communities, echoed Leahy’s comment that the Brattleboro Carbon Harvest project could be a model for New England and the nation. “This is an example of what a small-scale operation can do,” Bruso told the crowd. Susan Allen is executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont, a nonprofit organization located in Montpelier. Visit www.revermont.org. On the net Integrate methane gas-to-energy projects with agricultural systems www.carbonharvestenergy.com