FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) _ Fort Wayne officials are hoping to make the most out of the methane gas produced by the city’s water pollution control plant.
The city expects to save about $50,000 a year by using the gas burned off by the plant’s digesters to produce electricity. That figure could increase if the city finds a way to use the gas for heating.
The Journal Gazette reports the plant is undergoing a $32 million upgrade. City officials have budgeted an extra $3 million to make better use of the methane.
The methane will be burned by an engine that turns a generator that could churn out up to 560 kilowatts of electricity.
Deputy Director of Engineering Matt Wirtz says the engines can handle methane’s impurities without having to filter them out.