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.
Related News

Trump unveils landmark rewrite of NEPA rules
WASHINGTON - President Trump has announced plans for overhauling rules surrounding the nation’s bedrock environmental law, and administration officials refuted claims they were downplaying greenhouse gas emissions.
The president, during remarks at the White House with supporters and Cabinet officials, said he wanted to fix the nation’s “regulatory nightmare” through new guidelines for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act.
“America is a nation of builders,” he said. But it takes too long to get a permit, and that’s “big government at its absolute worst.”
The president said, “We’re maintaining America’s world-class standards of environmental protection.” He added, “We’re going to have very strong…