One of the world's largest landfill gas-to-energy projects was unveiled in Istanbul, Turkey.
The landfill gas project was developed as part of a national initiative to reduce the environmental impacts of solid waste facilities and use the landfills' gas to generate electricity.
Located at two landfill sites in Istanbul, the new renewable energy plants will be powered by a total of 23 of GE's Jenbacher landfill gas engines. The first 9 units have been commissioned and the final systems are scheduled to be delivered in 2010. Once the final units begin operation, the nearly 35 MW project will produce enough renewable energy to support the monthly requirements of approximately 100,000 average households in Istanbul, making it one of the largest waste-to-energy projects in the world.
Methane-rich landfill gas is created as organic solid waste gradually breaks down. To prevent venting of the gas, it is extracted via a network of pipes, processed and fed into GE's Jenbacher engines to generate a renewable supply of electricity. Capturing the gas to create renewable electricity will help reduce the landfills' annual emissions by an average 1 million tons of CO2 equivalents during the 22-year life spans of the plants, according to the project owner.
GE Energy's Jenbacher gas engine business is a leading manufacturer of gas-fueled reciprocating engines, packaged generator sets and cogeneration units for power generation.
For more information, visit www.ge.com.