Press release - 02 Apr 2009

Renewable energy from Dorset landfill site powers 3,600 homes

Gas recovered from a Dorset landfill site is producing enough renewable energy to heat and light more than 3,600 homes* every year.

The scheme, at Beacon Hill in Corfe Mullen, also saved over 7,000 tonnes of carbon from being poured into the atmosphere last year, according to SITA Power.

Tim Otley, General Manager, said: "This is an excellent example of sustainable waste management with landfill gas, which otherwise would be burnt in a flare stack, used for renewable energy generation."

The gas, a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane, is extracted from waste buried underground.

A network of pipes feeds the gas to two specialised engines connected to a generator.

The electricity generated is used to power site activities. It is also fed into the local distribution network after a transformer steps up the voltage to 11,000 volts.

A total of 17,039 megawatt hours (MWh’s) were provided for the local grid from the Beacon Hill landfill site in 2008.

According to SITA Power the same amount of electricity generated from fossil fuels would create 7,300 tonnes of carbon annually.

SITA Power oversees the management of 36 landfill gas generation schemes, including Beacon Hill, and one renewable transport fuel project across the country.

All the landfill sites, where landfill gas is recovered for energy generation, are operated by SITA UK, the recycling and waste management company.

Mike Garfield, SITA UK’s Area Manager, said: "Beacon Hill demonstrates how, using innovative technology, we can generate renewable green energy from the waste we throw away."

* Based on an average domestic consumption of 4,700kWh per annum. Source: DBERR’s Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2006.