First Large-Scale Biogas Plant in US Coming Online in California

The first large-scale commercial biogas plant in the US is coming online in San Jose, California – it will turn food waste from local restaurants and businesses into energy and compost. 

16 huge digestion chambers – each of which holds 350 tons of waste – will process the waste in about 21 days, using "dry fermentation anaerobic digestion." Bacteria breaks food waste down into compost and methane gas in an oxygen-free environment that requires little water. The gas is converted to electricity.

The facility is a partnership between GreenWaste, which collects garbage, recyclables and green waste, and Zanker Road Resource Management, which operates recycling facilities. They formed the Zero Waste Energy Development Company to develop the project. 

When all three phases are online, it will be capable of processing 270,000 tons of organic waste a year. It’s being built on an old landfill.

"The interest in biogas is growing very quickly," Julia Levin, executive director of the recently formed Bioenergy Association of California, told San Jose Mercury News. "In the long run, there’s a lot of potential for biogas to be used as transportation fuel. San Jose is on the cutting edge, but cities across California are trying to figure out how to better handle their waste. Biogas closes the sustainability loop on so many levels."

While composting is an important solution for organic waste, the fact is most of it ends up landfills. There, methane is created as it breaks down – one of the largest sources of this potent greenhouse gas.

We’ve written extensively about the benefits of biogas, an organic form of natural gas made from methane waste from landfills, dairies and sewage treatment plants. It’s the perfect way to make natural gas from recycled sources – no fracking necessary. It can be used as fuel for transportation and to  heat and cool buildings.