 | |  Wood Road Generating Station-Lansing Board of Water & Light
 
| Location | Lansing, Michigan | | End User(s) | Lansing Board of Water & Light | | Sector(s) | Utility | | Landfill(s) | Granger Wood Road Landfill | | Landfill Size | 5.5 million tons waste-in-place (2007) | | Project Type | Reciprocating Engine (seven) | | Project Size | 8.0 megawatts (MW) | | Environmental Benefits | Carbon sequestered annually by 78,000 acres of pine or fir forests, annual greenhouse gas emissions from nearly 63,000 passenger vehicles, or carbon dioxide emissions from more than 798,000 barrels of oil consumed. Annual energy savings equate to powering 5,000 homes. Estimated emissions reductions of 0.094 million metric tons of carbon equivalents. | | LMOP Partners Involved | Caterpillar, Inc., Granger Energy, Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) |
 To meet its own renewable energy goals, BWL looked to landfill gas (LFG) as a reliable source of renewable energy. In 2001, BWL approached Granger to purchase 500 kilowatts (kW) of off-peak power for its new green power program. By 2008, BWL wanted more. In turn, Granger more than doubled LFG electricity generation at its Wood Road Generating Station to 8.0 MW. BWL's active pursuit of renewable energy led to unique agreements with Granger, helped meet renewable energy goals, and spurred the development of two other LFG energy projects, earning BWL recognition as a 2008 LMOP Energy Partner of the Year.
Located in BWL's service territory and only 200 feet from existing BWL power lines, Wood Road station's connection to the BWL distribution system would be relatively simple. After several months of negotiations, Granger and BWL solidified a long-term arrangement for Granger to provide BWL with green power from Wood Road.
The Wood Road Generating Station project's highlights include the following:
- Expansion from 3.2 MW to 8.0 MW, with expected future total capacity of 9-12 MW
- In a 21-year power purchase agreement, Granger will provide BWL all of the green power from Wood Road station
- Deliverable electricity follows LFG production, providing incentive for aggressive management of the LFG collection system for maximum recovery
BWL's pursuit of green energy in its own service territory created the demand for green energy elsewhere, thus leading to the development of two new LFG energy projects. To meet the surging demand for more green power, Granger developed two new LFG energy projects in Michigan—at the Whitefeather Landfill and the South Kent Landfill.
Before state mandated renewable portfolio requirements, BWL set out its own goals of 5 percent renewables by 2012 and 7 percent by 2016. To create demand for green electricity, BWL launched its first green power program, "Greenwise Power," in 2001. The success of Greenwise prompted BWL to expand their energy plan and increase production from renewable energy resources such as LFG. Today, electrical capacity from LFG represents a majority of BWL's renewable portfolio.
Our early commitment to renewable energy puts the BWL ahead of the curve. I am confident that BWL will meet or exceed the state's 10 percent renewables mandate. —Peter Lark, General Manager, BWL Last Updated: 1/9/2009
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