The utility firm Hoosier Energy, Bloomington, Indiana, has started up its latest landfill methane generation facility in Rockford, Illinois. The station is located at Advance Disposal’s landfill in Davis Junction, Illinois. The engines are presently being tested and synched to Hoosier’s grid. The company expects to be producing power onto the grid sometime by the middle to the end of this November.

The 16-megawatt Orchard Hills Generation Station is able to convert landfill gas into electricity.

“Orchard Hills plays an important role for renewable energy in Hoosier Energy’s future, along with continued reliance on coal and natural gas,” said Rob Horton, Hoosier Energy’s vice president of Power Production for Hoosier Energy, during the ribbon cutting ceremonies. “We look forward to producing a lot of renewable energy here for many years to come.”

The new facility turns landfill gas into electricity and in the process removes a potent greenhouse gas. The facility is powered by six 620 General Electric Jenbacher reciprocating engines, which literally burn the methane, causing it to combust. The process rotates the generators to create the electricity.

A spokeswoman for Hoosier Energy notes that each engine, which have been designed specifically for landfill gas combustion, is outfitted with 20 six-liter cylinders, two turbos and a crankcase recirculation system. The cylinder heads use pre-ignition chambers, reducing the need for gas compression and providing additional plant efficiency. Each generator produces 2.7 megawatts of electric power at 4,160 volts.

The Orchard Hills Generation Station is Hoosier Energy’s third landfill methane generation facility. The firm operates a 4-megawatt gas plant in southern Indiana and a 15-megawatt landfill gas facility at a landfill owned and operated by Republic Services near Pontiac, Illinois.

The utility says it plans to add more renewable energy resources over the next few years.

(photos/graphics courtesy of Hoosier Energy)