Landfill-gas power plant approved

Public Service Commission chairman Brandon Presley D-Nettleton announced that the PSC has unanimously approved the Golden Triangle Regional Waste AuthorityÂ’s request to construct a 1-megawatt facility in Clay County that will convert landfill gas to electricity, becoming the first project that uses that process in Mississippi.

The power generated by the waste authority will be sold to the Tennessee Valley Authority TVA through 4-County Electric Power AssociationÂ’s distribution system. The plant will use landfill-gas that is currently being flared and released into the atmosphere to create electricity.

“This is a ‘green’ project that will create ‘green’ jobs and pay big dividends for electric consumers while protecting them from adverse risks,” Presley added.

Presley said the plant will be equipped to power approximately 1,000 homes and is projected to be online by the end of 2011. The project will create 16 jobs and be an investment of $2 million.

The Mississippi Public Service Commission must approve any electric generating facility in the state. The three-member panel, chaired by Presley, approved the project in its regular monthly meeting.