Every day, the landfill produces a large amount of methane gas.  The landfill operators trap this gas with devices located all around the landfill.

A Pipe for Collecting Methane

The gas is then sent through pipes to an electricity-generating plant.  There, the gas is burned and electricity is produced in two engines.

This electricity is then sold to a local power company.  Enough energy is created through this process to give power to 2,300 homes.

There are computers inside the small plant to monitor the equipment.  If there is a failure or a power outage, the entire system can be safely shut down.

This project was created by Caroline, David, Michael, Mindy, Neil, and Vikas for the ThinkQuest Internet contest in 1999.  Please read our copyright information or contact us (link disabled) if you have questions about this site.