Press release - 13 Apr 2010

£1 million investment creates green energy at Aberdeen landfill

Over £1million has been invested at the Hill of Tramaud landfill site near Aberdeen to generate green electricity from gas created by the decomposition of household waste.

The site is one of three landfills in Scotland operated by national recycling and resource management company, SITA UK. The investment will see the addition of two new ‘gas engines’ that will utilise landfill gas to generate around 1.5MW of electricity – enough to power 2,400 homes*.

Landfill gas arises as waste degrades and breaks down over time. This natural degradation of waste results in the production of methane and carbon dioxide.

This gas is a by-product of the landfilling process and has traditionally been captured through a network of gas wells and flared off. However, by using the gas as a fuel to drive a series of engines, which in turn drive a generator, SITA UK is able to put the gas to better use in the production of electricity.

Tim Otley, General Manager for SITA Power, commented: “Capturing this gas will allow us increase our capacity for producing green energy. Not only does this project reduce potential greenhouse gas emissions at the Hill of Tramaud site, but also off-sets emissions generated by burning fossil fuels in traditional coal, oil or gas fired power stations.”

The addition of the two new engines at the Hill of Tramaud will increase the total installed capacity at SITA UK landfill sites to 92.5MW.

The Hill of Tramaud landfill is owned by Aberdeen City Council. The site is operated by SITA UK under the terms of its 25-year contract for the management of waste collected in the city.  This includes the handling of recycling and green waste collected from kerbside and the management of four household waste and recycling centres. Under the terms of its contract, SITA UK pays a percentage of the revenue it makes from the sale of electricity to Aberdeen City Council.

Aberdeen City Council’s Housing and Environment Convener, Councillor Aileen Malone said: "This is a really good agreement for Aberdeen. Not only will it reduce the city's carbon footprint and put in place a robust gas management scheme, it will also bring money into Aberdeen from the sale of the green electricity generated.”

* Based on an average domestic household’s annual consumption of 4,700 kWh.