Thurston County to reuse waste gas for heating
A partnership of the cities of Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater, plus Thurston County, has approved a $2.6 million contract to install a cogeneration system that will supply about 11 percent of the heat and electricity for its new complex.
Officials tell The Olympian newspaper that the energy output will be 2.36 million kilowatt-hours — enough to power about 250 average-size homes.
Currently, the sewer utility simply burns off much of the methane.
The new system is expected to save the utility about $190,000 a year. It is expected to be operating in about 15 months.
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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommended the government give financial certainty to new power plants, guaranteeing energy will be bought at a cheap price if it can't be sold.
It's part of a bid to cut up to $400 a year from average household power prices.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the finance proposal had merit, but he ruled out directly funding specific types of power generation.
"We are not in the business of subsidising one…