Anaergia Inc. announced it will build, operate, and maintain a new waste-to-renewable energy system capable of creating 3.1 MW of renewable power from wastewater sludge. The energy recovery project will be located at the East County Advanced Water Purification (East County AWP) facility currently under construction in Santee, California.
The system will feature biogas conditioning and combined heat and power generation technologies, which will allow Anaergia to anaerobically digest wastewater solids and create the biogas required for producing renewable energy.
“The Energy Recovery project would maximize the production, beneficial use, and value of biogas while delivering energy savings, infrastructure enhancements, and environmental and community benefits,” said Mark Niemiec, Director of the East County AWP. “The project will reduce the AWP facility’s use of fossil fuels, improve energy resiliency, and cut costs, which ultimately benefits our ratepayers.”
Anaergia anticipates the waste-to-energy project will eventually expand to include the digestion of food waste, which would increase energy production to 4.6 MW and help reduce methane emissions by diverting organic waste away from California landfills.
“This project serves as a model for other facilities. It leverages proven technology, adds resilient infrastructure, and brings economic benefits to the utility,” said Brett Hodson, CEO of Anaergia. “The biogas made from anaerobically digesting this waste will be recovered to generate renewable electricity and heat for on-site use, reducing dependence on electric utilities and cutting costs for these municipalities.”
