 | |  Brown Station Road On-Site Electrical Generation Project
 
| Location | Upper Marlboro, Maryland | | End User(s) | Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) | | Sector(s) | Utility | | Landfill(s) | Brown Station Road Landfill | | Landfill Size | 8.9 million tons waste-in-place (2001) | | Project Type | Reciprocating Engine | | Project Size | 3.5 megawatts (MW) | | Savings | $60,000 per month in revenue to county. | | Environmental Benefits | Annual greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to planting 5,300 acres of forest, removing the emissions of 3,700 vehicles, or preventing the use of 45,500 barrels of oil. Annual energy savings equate to powering 2,200 homes. Estimated emissions reductions of 0.0053 million metric tons of carbon equivalents. | | LMOP Partners Involved | PEPCO, Prince George’s County, Waukesha Engine Division |
 Prince George's County, Maryland continues to demonstrate leadership in the beneficial use of landfill gas (LFG). Since 1987, Brown Station Road Landfill has been sending LFG to the nearby Prince George's County Correctional Facility to generate steam and electricity.
In 2003, the county completed its gas expansion project. It installed four new engines that generate 1,050 kilowatts (kW) each by burning approximately 1.75 million standard cubic feet (scfm) of LFG per day. However, the project is limited to generating no more than 3.5 MW at any time due to NOx emission limitations. Today, the county sells green power to the local utility for sale on the grid.
The project’s highlights include:
- Installed four new engines to generate electricity.
- Rehabilitated the compressor and LFG treatment facility.
- Replaced the old reciprocating engine with electrical motors to drive the compressors.
- Installed a chiller to remove moisture from the LFG before shipment to both end-use projects.
- Administration building next to the gas expansion project will connect directly to the project’s power output.
The county has a one-year interconnection agreement with the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) in which it pays $1,000 per month for PEPCO to meter and distribute the generated electricity to the grid. PEPCO has the rights to the green power tags for a one-year period that began in December 2003, and can sell as they wish. This agreement was made in order to expedite the revenue stream resulting from electric power sales once the interconnection agreement was completed.
After the one-year agreement, the county plans to receive the rights to the green power tags and sell through a third party. Since the project’s inception, the county has received an average of $60,000 per month for electrical generation. However, revenues have been variable due to fluctuations in market costs. Last Updated: 9/2/2005
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