Clean power generation provider Mainspring Energy announces that it has entered into an agreement with Yolo County, California, to pilot a Mainspring Linear Generator running biogas at the Yolo County Central Landfill. In its first 100% landfill biogas pilot project, to be deployed in the upcoming weeks, the Mainspring product will run on biogas produced by the landfill to generate electricity that can be used for site operations or exported to the grid.
Landfill biogas, a natural byproduct of the decomposition of organic material in landfills, when not controlled, produces significant amounts of methane emissions. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S. These landfills provide an important opportunity to capture and sustainably use this significant energy resource to generate renewable electricity. In turn, this can reduce emissions and prevent methane from migrating into the atmosphere and contributing to local smog and global climate change.
“One big advantage of a fuel-agnostic generator design is the ability to convert biogas from a number of agricultural and waste management operations into useful, renewable electricity,” said Shannon Miller, CEO and Founder of Mainspring. “We are honored to be working with an innovative municipality like Yolo County to unlock the potential of Mainspring’s technology in this important global use case.”
The pilot project will provide important real-world system experience as Yolo County evaluates the fuel-flexible linear generator technology in its biogas system. “We are excited to partner with Mainspring and continue to demonstrate production of renewable electricity using a new and innovative technology that has the potential to increase efficiency of electricity production and reduce air emissions,” said Ramin Yazdani, Director of Integrated Waste Management at Yolo County.