ALLENTOWN, PA---PPL EnergyPlus, a subsidiary of PPL Corp. (NYSE:PPL), and the City of Allentown today announced that waste methane gas from the Allentown wastewater treatment plant will soon be used to supply the power needs of the sewage facility. The announcement came during an afternoon press conference at the treatment plant.
During the event, PPL EnergyPlus President Larry De Simone explained how small generators called microturbines will burn waste methane to make electricity. Methane is a gas released from municipal sewage. The Allentown wastewater treatment plant produces about 80 million cubic feet of waste methane every year. PPL EnergyPlus plans to put that waste methane to good use by installing 12 microturbines on site to generate electricity from the gas.
This concept of providing small power generators to customers at their location is known as distributed generation. The Allentown project is part of PPL's GenSelectSM program. GenSelect is a comprehensive approach to energy supply that offers customers a variety of generation technologies to help customers obtain uninterrupted power supply, shave peak electricity demand and even sell power on the open market. The program's options range from traditional diesel generators to cutting-edge microturbines and, in the future, even fuel cells.
De Simone said the city should save money on its electric bill while helping the environment by using clean-burning microturbines. The microturbines also should result in an overall reduction in the emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
"Distributed generation - especially when it produces savings for the customer and benefits for the environment - can be a significant element of our portfolio of energy services for business," said Larry De Simone, president of PPL EnergyPlus.
"This is an excellent opportunity for the City of Allentown to save money, improve our operations, and partner with a company - PPL - that has the experience and know-how to plan and execute projects well," said William Heydt, mayor of Allentown.
PPL EnergyPlus has worked with Allentown in the past on other energy-saving projects, including the installation of new lighting in city hall and improvements to other city-owned buildings. These projects are expected to save Allentown $300,000 over the next several years.
"PPL EnergyPlus is currently negotiating more than a dozen distributed generation contracts along the eastern seaboard," said De Simone. "We see clearly the potential of distributed generation and the benefits it can provide to our customers to meet their growing energy needs in a cost efficient manner."
PPL EnergyPlus, LLC, is an unregulated subsidiary of PPL Corp. PPL EnergyPlus is not the same company as PPL Utilities, the electric and gas utility. The prices of PPL EnergyPlus are not regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, and you do not have to buy PPL EnergyPlus electricity, natural gas or other products in order to receive the same quality regulated services from PPL Utilities.