PSC approves landfill power project

December 9, 2010

SDN Staff Reports

Earlier this week, state regulators approved a project which will generate power using gas produced at the regional landfill.
The Public Service Commission okayed the project on Tuesday, Public Service Commission Chairman Brandon Presley, D-Nettleton, said in a Thursday statement.
Landfill gas is about 50 percent methane and 50 carbon dioxide, officials at Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority have said.
They will capture and convert the methane for use as fuel for a 1 megawatt facility to generate electricity. The process will power about 1,000 homes, create 16 jobs and be a $2 million investment, Presley said in the statement.
Officials expect the project will be online by the end of next year.
The power generated by the waste authority will be sold to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) through 4-County Electric Power Association’s distribution system. The plant will use landfill-gas that is currently being flared and released into the atmosphere to create electricity.
“This is the first project of its kind in Mississippi and will be a major benefit to the north Mississippi region,” Presley said, adding that “Anytime we can use untapped resources, that would otherwise be wasted, and turn them into energy we ought to be doing it.”
 The solid waste authority serves Clay, Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Choctaw, Noxubee and Webster counties.
The landfill is located on the line between Clay and Oktibbeha counties.