Yesterday in Baltimore City the mayor, Sheila Dixon pressed a button to start a generator running on methane from the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant. This will save up $2.4 million each year in energy costs. It will also prevent 12.9 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.

This trend towards using waste as energy is a good sign for alternative energy in America. The acceptance of this technology is a major step in reducing dependence on the power grid and reducing harmful emissions. Odds are the average person would not even know that this technology is becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States.

Baltimore county also uses methane for power. The Eastern Sanitary landfill has methane wells on the old hills of waste to capture methane released during the decay process. While it does not generate massive amounts of power it still manages to take waste and turn it into a viable product.

UMBC needs to research some of these waste to energy technologies. The university generates large amounts of waste and this could be used to help compensate for the fact that the university consumes a massive amount of energy. We need to call on the university to consider more alternative energy sources to help protect the environment. The technology is there, the only thing missing is the will to implement it.

Source:
Baltimore Sun article