Landfill power plant wins key township OK (NJ)

[jpak]

http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-4/11423996008300.xml&coll=2

L. SAUCON TWP. | A facility to convert landfill gas into a source of renewable energy gained momentum Monday as township planners recommended the site's preliminary plans for council approval.

The proposal by Bethlehem Renewable Energy LLC would take methane gas released by rotting garbage at the IESI Landfill on Applebutter Road and use it to generate up to five megawatts of electricity per day -- enough to service 5,000 homes, according to BRE spokesman Chuck Foster.

The gas, which would otherwise be wasted, he said, can be used in harnessing renewable energy, or what's sometimes known as "green energy."

Construction plans for the 1.25-acre site, at 2335 Applebutter Road, call for a 27 foot high main building and several smaller module buildings standing about 12 feet tall. The tract does not border any residentially zoned areas.

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