Dumpster Diving for Kilowatts
A College Powered by Garbage
by Michael Lemonick
Parade
A dozen or so miles north of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) lies a man-made hill of coffee grounds, banana peels, moldy bread--in short, ordinary household garbage. This growing mound of refuse outside Rochester actually helps to provide power and heat for UNH's nearly 15,000-student campus in Durham.
Most Americans get their electricity from oil, coal, or natural gas--fossil fuels that have been extracted from the ground. But as concern over carbon footprints and climate change grows, communities are increasingly seeking clean, green alternatives such as wind, water, and solar power. UNH, a school with a long-standing commitment to the environment, began investigating landfill gas a few years ago, after it installed a plant that burned natural gas for energy and provided hot water for heating. The natural gas burned relatively cleanly, but it still emitted carbon dioxide--and that didn't sit well with university officials.
Meanwhile, Waste Management, the company that operates the nearby landfill, was dealing with a surplus of gas containing 50% methane, which is created when bacteria break down organic waste. Methane is a pollutant and can't be released into the air, but it can be used as fuel.
(More here.)
by Michael Lemonick
Parade
A dozen or so miles north of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) lies a man-made hill of coffee grounds, banana peels, moldy bread--in short, ordinary household garbage. This growing mound of refuse outside Rochester actually helps to provide power and heat for UNH's nearly 15,000-student campus in Durham.
Most Americans get their electricity from oil, coal, or natural gas--fossil fuels that have been extracted from the ground. But as concern over carbon footprints and climate change grows, communities are increasingly seeking clean, green alternatives such as wind, water, and solar power. UNH, a school with a long-standing commitment to the environment, began investigating landfill gas a few years ago, after it installed a plant that burned natural gas for energy and provided hot water for heating. The natural gas burned relatively cleanly, but it still emitted carbon dioxide--and that didn't sit well with university officials.
Meanwhile, Waste Management, the company that operates the nearby landfill, was dealing with a surplus of gas containing 50% methane, which is created when bacteria break down organic waste. Methane is a pollutant and can't be released into the air, but it can be used as fuel.
(More here.)
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