PA DEP Lauds Lebanon County Landfill Gas Project, Education Center Receiving National...

PA DEP Lauds Lebanon County Landfill Gas Project, Education Center Receiving
National Recognition

Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority, PPL Renewable Energy Partnered to Build
Innovative Educational Facility

LEBANON, Pa., March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following an award from the
federal government, Pennsylvania's environmental protection secretary today
heralded the work of a Lebanon County landfill and its partner to harness
renewable energy that is helping power local communities and businesses while
educating the public.

Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty today
congratulated the Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority and PPL Renewable Energy
for the partners' work to develop a renewable energy education facility at the
authority's landfill.

The project was recently named a National Community Partner of the Year by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The innovative display at the county
landfill demonstrates the power of renewable energy from landfill gas, a wind
turbine and solar panels.

"When the garbage at a landfill decomposes, it produces gas that usually was
just burned off," said McGinty. "One of those gases, methane, is a potent
greenhouse gas, which threatens our environment. But methane is also a
valuable energy resource that should not be wasted, and DEP now requires that
it be put to work to light our homes and provide heat for factories.

"The Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority and PPL are taking advantage of that
opportunity here along with other renewable energy sources to generate power
and educate our citizens on the value of these resources. The renewable energy
education facility displays how our natural resources and materials that are
otherwise wasted can be turned into clean, cost-effective energy that is
helping to drive our economy.

"Some of the benefits are obvious--reducing greenhouse gases and reducing our
dependence on imported fuels," said McGinty. "By educating the public on the
benefits of the various renewable energy sources, we're making these
alternatives more widely known, which could spur their use elsewhere through
future projects."

The Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority project uses a 3.2 megawatt landfill
gas-to-energy project, along with a 2,000 watt wind turbine, and a 1,000 watt
solar array to generate power and demonstrate the benefits of renewable energy
resources.

The facility has already hosted more than 2,000 students, teachers and
community groups. It provides a classroom where generators are visible through
soundproof windows, displays all power production from the three renewable
energy resources live, on a screen within the classroom, and demonstrates the
cost-effectiveness of renewable energy resources to industrial and
institutional facilities.

The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the Lebanon project is the
equivalent of planting about 38,000 acres of trees, removing 26,700 vehicles
from the road, or avoiding the use of 323,600 barrels of oil annually.

Pennsylvania is home to nearly 46 active landfill gas projects, including
seven that produce high-Btu (British Thermal Unit) pipeline quality gas, 25
that collectively generate more than 110 megawatts of electrical power, and 14
that provide fuel for thermal use in businesses. Total landfill gas use
statewide is estimated at 42,951 million cubic feet annually, which reflects
the nearly 70 percent of current state landfill gas that is captured.

According the EPA's environmental benefits calculator, this level of capture
is equivalent to eliminating emissions from 1.9 million cars or planting 2.7
million acres of trees. The commonwealth's landfill gas projects, combined,
provide energy the equivalent of 22.7 million barrels of oil, or enough to
displace almost 1 billion gallons of gasoline -- enough to heat 614,000 homes
for a year.

In 2006, DEP was honored as the EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program's state
Partner of the Year. The federal agency also cited Governor Rendell's
initiatives to encourage and support the use of landfill methane gas.

For more information, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword Landfill Methane
Outreach Partnership.

CONTACT:
Sandy Roderick
(717) 705-4931

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Sandy Roderick of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,
+1-717-705-4931