“Green” Electricity to Power Dell, Inc. Corporate Headquarters
AUSTIN, Texas – April 2, 2007 – Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WMI) today officially opened its latest waste-based renewable energy facility at the company’s Austin Community Landfill, whose “green” power will be delivered to Dell corporate headquarters in Round Rock. The electricity from the landfill gas will power more than 40 percent of Dell headquarters’ energy needs.
The landfill gas-to-energy (LFGTE) facility at the Austin Community Landfill will produce 6 megawatts of green electricity, which will produce enough energy to power over 6000 homes. The plant is the ninth such facility in Texas for Waste Management. In Texas, the company’s landfill gas-to-energy (LFGTE) plants generate more than 55 megawatts of green electricity, enough to power more than 50,000 homes.
The Austin Community Landfill LFGTE plant is part of Waste Management’s national initiative to build 60 new renewable energy facilities over the next five years, and is part of the company’s environmental sustainability initiative to increase its waste-based energy production. Today, Waste Management creates enough energy for the equivalent of 1 million homes each year. By 2020, it expects to double that output, producing enough energy for the equivalent of more than 2 million homes.
“Taking landfill gas and converting it to green power is a buried treasure for the community,” says Don Smith, general manager for Waste Management Central Texas. “We take a once-wasted commodity and turn it into a long-term, reliable source of renewable energy, which is a major environmental plus for the Austin community and one of its major employers, Dell.”
"Dell underscored its commitment to being the greenest technology company on the planet today by running our global headquarters campus on 100 green power. Partnering with leading companies like Waste Management and TXU in efforts like this will make a difference in protecting the Earth we all share," said Dane Parker, director of environmental health and safety for Dell.
The power plant, located in the center of the landfill property, is equipped with four large engine/generators. Each of the Caterpillar units generates 1,148 horsepower. Each weighs approximately 26,500 pounds and stands 7 feet in height, 7.5 feet in width, and 16 feet in length.
The plant captures the landfill gas, primarily methane, through a network of pipes and wells drilled into the landfill. A vacuum system draws the gas from the landfill and conveys it to the power plant where it fuels the engines driving the generators to produce electricity. The landfill gas recovery system includes more than 100 vertical gas extraction wells and 2,100 feet of horizontal wells. Previously, the landfill gas was safely destroyed at a central flare.
The landfill will produce gas for the power plant for the next several decades and continue even after the landfill no longer accepts waste.
A pioneer in LFGTE projects, Waste Management designed and operated its first facility in the United States over 20 years ago. With 277 landfills, Waste Management is the country’s largest landfill operator and is in a unique position to expand waste-based renewable power generation across the country. The company is also exploring partnerships to expand its landfill gas-to-energy technology to other private and municipal landfills.
The Austin Community Landfill also provides free electronics recycling, uses recycled concrete to build landfill roads, and recycles 300 tons of tires each year. All landfill equipment purchased since 2002 meets Federal air standards for non-attainment areas. Waste Management has also worked with neighbors to design and build a 30-acre Wildlife Habitat Park, which is the only Waste Management park in Texas certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council.
About Waste Management
Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Our subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. We are also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. More information about how Waste Management Thinks Green® can be found at www.wm.com
About Dell
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell is a leading global systems and services company and No. 34 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit www.dell.com, or to communicate directly with Dell via a variety of online channels, go to www.dell.com/conversations. To get Dell news direct, visit www.dell.com/RSS.
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