Biogas Generation Offers Solution To Community In Tough Economic Times

Energy-Generation at Utility Money-Saving Solution Minnesota Community Needs

The mining and energy industries have hit hard times in Minnesota, threatening the financial security of much of the state.  

Instead of raising taxes or cutting back on city services, one Minnesota community is taking a less traditional approach to overcoming the economic challenges that face their region—converting waste into energy.  

In the 2016 legislative, the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) is requesting $8.1 million in funding for the “Combined Heat and Power Energy Project.” This project includes the installation of two 825-kilowatt generators and equipment to generate electricity with biogas, produced in the wastewater treatment process, and to capture and reuse heat from the process.

“We all feel the economic impact from struggles in the mining and energy industries and we must do what we can to stabilize rates for our region’s residents and large regional employers in the forest-products industry,” states Marianne Bohren, executive director of the WLSSD and Karen Anderson, the district’s director of community relations, in a joint column printed in the Duluth News Tribune. “We cannot delay and risk further economic hardship in our region. Moving forward with WLSSD’s project saves money and will stabilize rates.”

The $8.1-million-dollar funding request will cover about one-third of project’s cost. WLSSD is hoping that additional funding may come from a wastewater and water infrastructure state bond proposal earlier this year, reports the Duluth News.

WLSSD, which serves 17 communities, 140,000 residents, three counties, and four large industries, is already producing biogas and utilizing some for heat in the colder months. This meets about 8% of the utility’s energy needs, and the remainder of the biogas produced remains unused.

“Providing quality wastewater treatment is energy-intensive and expensive for everyone. Wasting an available, renewable energy resource that could defray costs is irresponsible,” states Bohren and Anderson in their Duluth News column.

The addition of the two 825-kilowatt generators will allow WLSSD to meet about 35% of its electricity needs using the biogas they already produce. The generators also produce heat that will be used in buildings and in wastewater treatment processes.  

WLSSD can then increase the biogas and electricity produced by adding other wastes like food scraps or fats, oils and grease to the existing digester tanks. This could potentially generate enough electricity to meet 100% of the utility’s energy needs, reports the Duluth News.

Currently, the utility spends about $3 million each year of electricity, which totals to about one-third of their operating costs. Through other measures they’ve managed to reduce electricity usage by 18% over three years, but rising energy costs have negated any savings that came as a result.

Bohren and Anderson are hopeful that funding for the project will be approved, as these upgrades are essential to the community’s economic future.

“WLSSD’s Combined Heat and Power Energy Project will stabilize wastewater rates in the region by maximizing the use of existing resources and reducing energy costs — all with clean, renewable energy, they stated in their Duluth News column. “The project is truly sustainable; it effectively uses existing infrastructure to make the very most out of waste.”