As this blog reported in late July, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) has been engaged in a project that would convert leftover food or food waste into energy. Here’s how it works: first the food is taken to a treatment facility, then the food decomposes at the treatment facility releasing methane gas, the gas is then captured and used for renewable energy. Given that there are 2,300 restaurants and grocery stores in the Bay Area, there is a lot of food waste that could be used.Now, according to Julie Ann Strack’s story for the Los Angeles Times, EBMUD may be ready to sell some energy converted from food. As Strack reports, engineers have been developing this process since the utility received $50,000 to study the technology back in 2006. While John Hake, associate civil engineer with EBMUD, believes this technology could be a great long-term energy source, he is quick to point out, ‘“It’s no silver bullet, but it could be on part of a portfolio of renewable energy sources.”
Indeed, for the technology to become viable by 2010, when the utility hopes to be selling energy to the grid, the conversion process will have to get faster. 1 megawatt of energy from food scraps can power 1,300 homes, but it takes 100 tons of food per day to achieve that goal, according to David Williams, director of wastewater at EBMUD. Right now the plant can process “about 100 tons per week.”
Williams also points out another challenge to the processing: non-food garbage mixed in with the food scraps. ‘"Rags just wreck havoc on the pumps," Williams said. "We get oyster shells, silverware and, for some reason, rocks."’ So far, it appears the best way to cut down on these contaminants is by educating those disposing of the food.
Currently, EBMUD is powering its own wastewater treatment plant by converting food scraps and other kinds of waste. The treatment plant serves roughly 650,000 homes in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. This is a welcome start to a technology that can create energy while reducing landfill waste and greenhouse gases.
To read a previous US Agricultural and Food Law and Policy blog post on EBMUD click here.
To read Strack’s story on the LA Times website click here.
Posted: 08/24/09
