Ameresco, a cleantech integrator specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, signed a $140 million contract to develop and construct an advanced technology, 13.4 MW biogas cogeneration facility for the Sacramento Area Sewer District at the EchoWater Resource Recovery near Elk Grove, California.
The on-site renewable energy facility will utilize biogas (methane), a byproduct of the EchoWater Facility’s solids treatment process, to produce renewable electricity and heat for the EchoWater Facility through an integrated cogeneration plant using fuel cell and engine technology.
The fuel cell system will not only help the project with efficiency and reduced pollutant emissions, making it a clean, reliable baseload dispatchable resource but also allow expandability to produce hydrogen in the future.
The new facility is expected to complete construction by July 2026.
“Capturing and repurposing biogenic methane, that is already in our environment and produced by society, to displace fossil fuel is a powerful example of the circular economy in action, where waste is not discarded, but turned into a valuable asset,” said Michael Bakas, Executive Vice President of Ameresco.
Sacramento Area Sewer District handles wastewater from about 1.6 million customers. The EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility is one of the region’s biggest treatment plants and is in the midst of a $1.7 billion, decade-long expansion project.
Ameresco also is a leading developer of microgrid projects
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