Waste Management operates gas collection systems at half the landfills and will build similar infrastructure at the other six, company spokeswoman Sarah Voss said. Reliant is building power plants at each landfill. Both companies are based in Houston. Five of the landfill projects are in the greater Houston area, with one each in or near Fort Worth, Hutto, Greenville, New Braunfels, Sherman, Temple and Waco. The total output will be 44 megawatts of electricity, enough to power at least 13,000 homes for 20 to 30 years.
Garbage produces methane gas as it decomposes.
The gas can be gathered and used for industrial use or power generation. Currently, Waste Management supplies landfill gas in 73 separate projects that produce more than 140 total megawatts of electricity over 21 states. E.W. Scripps Publications , All Rights Reserved. Site users are subject to our User Agreement . We also have a Privacy Policy .