GM heralded for finding power down in the dumps
Did you know that the horrid stench emanating from your local landfill can be used as an energy source? We didn’t, but it turns out GM did. GM is the largest user of landfill gas in the country, with seven facilities getting extra wattage from the aromatic excretions of their neighborhood dumps. Landfill gas comes from the decomposition of organic waste, and by combusting it in onsite boilers the General has reduced its use of natural gas by 21 percent since 2000.
At the company’s Ft. Wayne Truck Assembly Plant the power provided by landfill gas that’s pumped through an 8-mile long pipeline from the town’s landfill accounts for 16-percent of the plant’s energy needs. Green Car Congress tells us that saves GM $500,000 annually and delivers a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that’s equivalent to planting 6,000 acres of forest or making 4,200 vehicles disappear.
For its efforts GM and some of these plants will be featured on both a public access and cable TV show this Spring, as well as an international radio show.
[Source: Green Car Congress]
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