California Governor Gray Davis announced that the state's first full-time landfill power plant using microturbine technology is now producing electricity. The Burbank Landfill Gas Microturbine Power Plant, which uses a microturbine system produced by Capstone Turbine Corp. (Chatsworth, CA), began producing nearly 300kW on July 13, 2001.
The landfill gas used to produce the power, generated by 10 30kW microturbines, was previously flared or burned off. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued permits to alter the existing landfill control system to incorporate the installation of the microturbines. The project cost a total of $550,000. Of that amount, almost half was provided by a grant from the California Energy Commission AB 970 Peak Load Reduction Program.
"Renewable energy is an important part of the solution to California's energy crisis," said Governor Davis. "We need to continue to develop diverse energy sources in California so we can take control of our own energy destiny. This project represents innovative thinking that solves environmental problems while producing reliable and clean electricity."
