So Smelly Good

Robert McKnight

5-1-09

11:20

A hand-full of Utah landfills are utilizing their "quarry's" natural characteristics to generate electricity.  Methane recovery systems are being funded across the state, which hopes to set an example for the rest of the country and the world.  The trash gas provides a consistent flow of electricity since it is generated 24 hours a day and it isn't subject to price fluctuation.  The biggest of the plants peaks out at 4.5 megawatts.

Utah says that all landfills could use methane recovery.  Many are forced to capture it anyway because it's a greenhouse gas, but most simply burn it off, wasting would-be energy and adding to the problem.  P-U!

A most elegant way to put our abundance of smelly gas to good use.  If we're going to make methane, and we certainly are, what else would we do with it?  Turning it into energy also makes trash production almost desirable...  Which is weird.  

I like how this system takes something so synonymous with pollution and "badness" in general and cleverly morphs it into something that's... not.  It creates a very interesting sort of balance/counterbalance situation for sure.  I suppose the big question is whether or not it wouldn't be better for the planet if we just didn't make so much garbage, rather than laboriously synthesizing it's byproducts into clean energy.  I also suppose we're not going to stop making a bunch of garbage any time soon, so synthesize away, baby!

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