image
image picture history

POWER SOLUTIONS
ESA Energy projects are designed around
environmentally friendly technologies
utilizing clean, alternative, or renewable
energy sources.  These sources of energy
often include biomass, municipal solid
waste, landfill gas, concentrated solar
thermal, or natural gas.  ESA projects are
recognized for superior technical and
economic design and consist of advanced
equipment deployed in conjunction with
leading technology partners. 

 LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY
Through the natural bacterial decomposition of solid waste and organic materials, large municipal landfills produce gasses comprised of roughly 60 percent methane and 40 percent carbon dioxide (or "CO2"). Methane is a significant and harmful greenhouse gas, trapping 21 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2). ESA landfill gas-to-energy plants are designed to utilize this methane-rich gas from a landfill which would otherwise be released to the atmosphere or wasted by flaring. This dramatically reduces the amount of harmful methane released into the atmosphere. LFG is captured through a piping system embedded in the landfill and transported to the plant. A typical ESA Energy landfill gas-to-energy project produces 25 to 50+ megawatts of electric power capacity. ESA landfill gas-to-energy plants are designed to operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, to provide a high availability power source. ESA Energy’s design maximizes the overall plant efficiency resulting in an excellent heat rate, as well as providing clean utilization of the landfill gas stream, resulting in very low emissions, well below emission standards.

Environmental Benefits
Methane is a highly potent agent of global climate change, having pound-per-pound approximately 21 times the negative impact as a greenhouse gas when compared to CO2. Left unaddressed, this methane is released to the atmosphere. ESA Energy’s landfill gas-to-energy projects prevent this negative affect by utilizing up to 98% of the landfill gas as an energy source.

Utilization of landfill gas produces CO2, however the affect upon climate change is offset many times over by the reduction of far more harmful methane emissions.

Landfill gas-to-energy generation offers major air quality benefits where landfills already exist often in urban and residential areas.

Methane and landfill gas are also highly malodorous. ESA projects significantly eliminate these offensive odors which can, at times, migrate miles into surrounding neighborhoods and commercial areas, creating a noxious and hazardous environment for citizens.