April 5, 2010
Contacts:
Chris Tryba, Hoosier Energy (812) 876-0337
Rick Moore, Hoosier Energy (812) 876-0282
Hoosier Energy adds more renewable energy to power supply portfolio for electric cooperatives
Hoosier Energy will quadruple its production of renewable energy to meet member power supply needs with construction of an 11-megawatt plant that converts trash to electricity.
Construction is set to begin in May on a four-engine $22.5 million facility that will use methane produced by the Woodland Meadows Landfill in Wayne, Michigan. Hoosier Energy currently operates a 3.5-megawatt landfill methane generation (LMG) plant at the Clark-Floyd landfill in southern Indiana.
The Woodland Meadows plant is expected to be in operation in July 2011. In addition to LMG facilities, Hoosier Energy’s renewable energy portfolio includes 25 megawatts from an Iowa wind farm. The power supply cooperative is investigating additional cost-effective renewable energy sources including biomass, coal bed methane, wind, solar and additional landfill projects.
The 11-megawatt capacity at Woodland Meadows is enough power for more than 6,000 typical southern Indiana homes. Power produced at the plant will offset about 86,000 tons of carbon dioxide from regional coal-fired generation.
"The LMG projects provide clean renewable baseload energy for our member cooperatives at a favorable cost," said David Sandefur, Hoosier Energy vice president of power supply.
Hoosier Energy was approved last fall for $22.5 million in Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREB) financing through the U.S. Department of Treasury. CREB funds help electric cooperatives lower the cost for new clean energy projects.
Methane is a byproduct of landfills and use for power production prevents the gas from being flared. Another benefit of the Woodland Meadows project will be use of waste heat to supplement hot water production for automotive supplier Visteon.
Massachusetts-based environmental construction firm Ameresco will construct the power generation plant as well as a 1.5-mile pipeline to deliver methane from the landfill site.
Power from the plant will be delivered into the Midwest Independent System Operator transmission footprint through a DTE (formerly Detroit Edison) substation.
Opened in 1994, the Woodland Meadows Landfill accepts about 2 million tons of waste per year, serving the Detroit west metropolitan area.
Hoosier Energy is a generation and transmission cooperative providing electric power to 17 member electric distribution cooperatives in central and southern Indiana and one member cooperative in Illinois. Based in Bloomington, Hoosier Energy operates coal, natural gas and renewable energy power plants and delivers power through a 1,450-mile transmission network.
With offices across the United States, Ameresco, Inc. is an independent energy solutions company delivering long-term customer value through innovative systems, strategies and technologies.