Drysdale facility turns waste into energy

THE Drysdale Resource Recovery Centre is now converting waste emissions into renewable energy.

Renewable energy company LMS Energy has partnered with the City of Greater Geelong to fund the Drysdale Renewable Energy Facility, which is expected to provide enough electricity to power 1,200 homes and will operate for at least 25 years.

The locally generated energy will be put back into the grid to be used by Greater Geelong consumers.

Acting Director City Services Debbie Leeson-Rabie said the facility started generating renewable energy on December 6.

“The facility captures waste emissions and turns them into renewable energy,” Ms Leeson- Rabie said.

“In generating electricity, the facility will stop about 35,000 tonnes of carbon from being released into the atmosphere each year.”

Ms Leeson-Rabie said the operators installed pipes into the landfill cell and the pipes capture gases created by decomposing organic material in landfill.

“These gases are drawn into the generator and then are converted into energy,” she said.

The facility will operate 24-hours per day, seven days per week, and LMS Energy has provided all of the required infrastructure, including piping into landfill cells, the gas generator and ongoing management and maintenance of the facility.