Three Kentucky Plants Burn Landfill Gas

LEXINGTON, Kentucky -- - Construction will begin soon on three plants that will convert landfill gas into electricity.

The plants will be the first of their kind in Kentucky. Instead of coal, they will burn methane and other landfill gases to generate electricity.

East Kentucky Power Cooperative will build the plants at the Bavarian Landfill in Boone County, the Laurel Ridge Landfill in Laurel County and the Green Valley Landfill in Greenup County.

Each of the 5,000-square-foot plants will cost $4 million and generate a combined 10 megawatts of power. That's enough, East Kentucky Power says, to supply power to all the homes in two cities the size of Shelbyville.

The gas is produced by decaying trash. It now escapes into the the atmosphere, where it becomes a greenhouse gas and possibly contributes to global warming.

"We're exploring every avenue we can to reduce coal emissions," East Kentucky Power spokesman Kevin Osbourne said. "This is just another way of doing that. Plus, not only is it good for the environment, the cost compares very well."

Converting landfill gas into electricity costs more than converting coal, however, and that cost is passed on to customers through the co-op's EnviroWatts program.

Some customers already are enrolled in the program, using "green" power generated at landfills in Indiana.

Customers pay an extra $2.75 a month for each block of 100 kilowatt hours of green energy they choose to buy.

An average customer uses about 1,000 kilowatt hours a month, and has a bill of about $60. If that customer decided to buy one 100 kilowatt-hour block of green power, the bill would be $62.75.

The program began in January 2002, after Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America Inc., requested green power from Owen Electric Cooperative for its quality lab in Erlanger.

Inter-County Energy, Blue Grass Energy Cooperative and Clark Energy have since started offering EnviroWatts. East Kentucky Power provides wholesale energy to those and an additional dozen distribution cooperatives.

But the program has grown slowly, and sells less than one megawatt of power. Besides Toyota, only one commercial and 153 residential customers have signed up.

"We think it has significant potential to grow, however probably always going to remain a niche," Osbourne said. "For our members who really want to do something special for the environment, this gives them an option."