City aims to make money from poo power

In San Antonio Texas, the city’s water system (the San Antonio Water System, or SAWS) plans to begin selling methane gas captured from the utility’s water treatment. SAWS treats 140,000 tons of biosolids, or sewage every year. On Tuesday, the utility’s board of trustees, approved a contract that promises to give at least 900,000 cubic feet of natural gas daily for the next 20 years to Ameresco Inc., a Framingham, Massachusetts-based energy services company.

Everyday enough biosolids are generated to create 1.5 million cubic feet of gas. This is the equivalent to filling seven commercial blimps or 1,250 tanker trucks each day. This is actually an improvement, since the utility has already been selling for reuse a portion of the water that’s cleaned at its wastewater treatment plants. It also has been converting some of its biosolids into compost that can be sold for use in the areas yards and gardens.

Apparently, SAWS is the only city water treatment plant in the United States that has put such extensive renewable and recyclable measures into order. The water system will be rewarded by receiving up to $250,000 a year for the methane it captures, and the city of San Antonio will be rewarded with better air quality.

I think that this is an excellent idea. We should be getting more creative in coming up with ideas to create renewable energy, as of course our planet can’t handle any more waste and carelessness. I think that SAWS is setting a good standard for other American cities to strive for.

 http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/09/11/sewage.energy.ap/index.html