GM to Turn Garbage into Electricity…

How’s this for turning garbage into electricity – literally.

According to a recent report, General Motors has invested $24 million dollars in providing energy to two of their plants, located in Orion, Michigan near Detroit and the other in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

The plan is to produce energy will be gleaned from garbage from the plants. The trash will then be turned into energy through the collection of a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane gas, which is also called landfill gases.

In the Orion area plant, gas will travel 8,300 feet through a network of pipes. Pipes are designed to send newly created steam to the plant, in turn producing needed electrical power for the plant operations. Construction on the pipe project began at the end of November. The system is expected to be operating fully by the spring of 2014.

General Motors Places Emphasis On Green Operations When Possible

General Motors has used green methods of creating energy in the past to power smaller areas of other plants. This is a larger project, an expansion of earlier methods that are already in place. GM expects to be able to create over 125 megawatts of energy by using the method of turning trash into steam power by 2020.

Using landfill gases to create power is a green alternative to other methods that can damage the environment, like today’s use of natural gas and oil for energy. GM has said that they’re committed to using these new methods to be more energy conscious and environmentally aware. Projects that use landfill gas for power can ultimately help decrease air pollution, increase a company’s revenue and cost savings and can help create more jobs.

Landfill Gas Energy Can Meet Nearly Half Of Energy Needs

It is estimated that once this new method of harnessing energy from landfill gas is completed, that over half of the needs of the Orion, Michigan plant will be met and at least 40 percent of the needs of the Ft. Wayne plant will be satisfied. General Motors has used similar methods since 1999. This will be done on a larger scale in Michigan and Indiana and is expected to have even more of a positive environmental impact on these geographical areas.

In recent press releases, GM has stated that they’ll be able to create more than 14 megawatts of power by using landfill gases. Using gases to create power is expected to also save on harmful CO2, carbon emissions into the environment. Savings are expected to be about 89,000 tons of emissions. Putting it into different terms, that would be nearly equal to carbon emissions created by over 18,500 cars on the road. General Motors will continue its use of alternative energies and remains committed to helping the environment when possible.