Ameresco, Inc., an international energy efficiency and renewable energy company, is to design, build, own, operate and maintain an innovative wastewater biogas-to-energy facility for the City of Phoenix, Arizona. The multi-million dollar wastewater treatment biogas project is planned for the 91st Ave Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), operated by the City of Phoenix.
The 91st Ave biogas project, which is expected to be operational in late 2017, will process the raw biogas generated in the anaerobic digesters into renewable natural gas (RNG) that will be sold to the vehicle market through the natural gas pipeline grid. The biogas is a mixture of different gasses (mostly methane and carbon dioxide) produced through the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter that is delivered to the WWTP. With a project size of 3,250 standard cubic feet per minute (SCFM) capacity, Ameresco says the project is expected to be the largest of its kind in the nation.
“This cutting-edge partnership will enable Phoenix to turn wasted biogas from the plant’s digesters into green gas that can be sold for profit,” said Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton. “This is a business opportunity that also improves air quality and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which moves Phoenix closer to our goal of 15 percent renewable energy citywide.”
“The exceptional aspect of this project is the ability to capture a wasted resource and utilize it, thereby efficiently making use of this renewable energy asset,” said Michael T. Bakas, Senior Vice President, Ameresco.
The 91st Ave plant serves the cities of Phoenix, Glendale, Mesa, Scottsdale, and Tempe that make up the Sub-Regional Operating Group (SROG), owner of the WWTP.
This project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by nearly 45,000 tons per year, the equivalent of taking over 70,000 cars off the road or planting over 87,000 acres of trees every year.
(Source: Ameresco, Inc.)
