Trash from Baltimore County residents will be used to produce renewable energy as the county starts a project at one of its landfills to convert gas created from decomposing waste into electricity. Instead of burning the methane gas off with a landfill flare, Energy Power Partners has agreed to collect gas produced by the Eastern Sanitary Landfill in White Marsh to create power for the county with on-site engine generators. The gas will travel through wells and pipes buried in the landfill before it’s processed and used to create electricity.
Baltimore County will purchase the energy produced by the firm to offset the needs of municipal facilities, said Seth Blumen, the county’s energy and sustainability coordinator. The county anticipates saving $285,000 in the current fiscal year from the project because the power purchased from Energy Power Partners is less expensive than buying from another source. The two-phase project is the first major renewable energy venture in Baltimore County’s history, said Steve Lafferty, the county’s inaugural Chief Sustainability Officer.
The project is expected to generate 13 million kWh — enough energy to power 1,600 homes for a year — annually during the first phase. The second phase of the project, which is expected to be completed by year’s end, will add a third generator to increase energy production to 20 million kWh annually.