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The American Biogas Council (“ABC”) issued a September 25th news release titled:
New Data Shows Wastewater Facilities Produce 7.3 Billion kWh of Energy Each Year — With Greater Potential Available (“Report”).
ABC states that the data shows:
…the extensive role municipal wastewater facilities can play to recycle organic waste into renewable energy and fertilizer using biogas systems.
Information included in the Report:
- 1,200 U.S. wastewater treatment plants capture biogas from their wastewater sludge and use it to produce the electricity.
- Electricity produced is the equivalent of 7.3 billion kWh per year.
- 3,800 additional wastewater facilities could build biogas capture systems.
- If every suitable wastewater facility installed biogas systems, the sector could capture 171.8 billion cubic feet of biogas each year – enough energy for 1.3 million U.S. households.
- 49% of all biogas capture systems in the U.S. operate at wastewater plants, followed by farms (24%) and landfills (23%).
- Wastewater facilities use captured gas in the following manner:
- 80% generate energy,
- 58% producing electricity.
- 22% producing heat.
- 4% of wastewater plants upgrade raw biogas to renewable natural gas.
ABC’s Report includes data collected from more than 5,000 wastewater plants that treat at least a million gallons of wastewater a day.
A copy of the ABC Report can be found here.
