Video: Garbage Gas To Electricity

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GOLDEN TRIANGLE (WCBI) – A Golden Triangle Regional Waste management executive talked trash today [Thursday] at a West Point rotary club luncheon.

Jimmie Sloan gave rotarians an update on how the states first landfill gas to electricity generation facility is faring.

About a year and a half ago when experts began using decomposed garbage to power homes, residents living in 6 counties were skeptically cautious.

But since installation of a huge generator, methane gas running through underground pipes have been producing electricity thats being sold to TVA.

“So we route it to that generator. We’ve got an Evenbacher, a G.E. Product. G. E. Evenbacher, engine was made in Austria. Its about one thousand fifty horse power engine. Turning a generator that creates a little more than a thousand kilowatts per hour of electricity,” said Sloan, Executive Director, GTRSWMA.

What was once considered worthless is being turned into hot air…in this case valuable gases trapped and sent through huge pipes, producing revenue.

“The project has generated more than a million and a half dollars in revenue. Of course we paid little over three million dollars for the project, so we’re still paying for it. But its going to have an excellent return. We estimate that we would pay for it in less than five years. And we’re going to make that easily,” added sloan.

So the next time you think about the garbage you throw away, know this….. if you live in Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Choctaw, or Webster Counties, your trash just may come back to in the form of electrical power.

“We’ve got a 10 year contract with TVA so we’re looking forward to a really good project over the life of the equipment,” said Sloan.

Electricity generated at the Old West Point Road site provides electrical power for 600 homes in the region.