pRESS RELEASE

ALAMEDA RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD FOR LANDFILL PROJECTS, GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS

ALAMEDA, Calif., January 15, 2008 —The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has presented an award to Alameda Power & Telecom, the municipal utility serving the City of Alameda, for its participation in landfill methane generation projects and greenhouse gas reductions.
 
Alameda Power & Telecom was recognized with the EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Project (LMOP) Energy Partners of the Year Award, an honor shared with the City of Palo Alto.
 
The award was presented at the 11th Annual LMOP Conference and Exposition in Washington, DC, on January 9.
 

AP&T's Bill Garvine is third from the left.

The two utilities were cited for, “…actively pursuing landfill gas generation opportunities in their own backyard.”  Alameda and Palo Alto now share 3.2 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy provided by the Buena Vista Landfill-Gas-to-Energy (LFGTE) Project in Santa Cruz County.  An additional 15 MW from other local landfills is under development for use by consumers in both municipalities.
 
The initial 1.5 MW available to Alameda since January 2006 is enough power to meet the needs of about 2,000 Alameda homes.   Using this renewable resource is equivalent to taking almost 13,000 cars off the road or planting almost 19,000 acres of forest.
 
An additional 2 MW is provided to Alameda from the West Contra Costa landfill in Richmond.  Approximately 7% of Alameda’s power is now fueled by landfill gas, and the utility is procuring additional landfill gas resources.
  
The landfill gas facilities complement the significant early investments in geothermal, hydroelectric, wind, and solar resources presently powering Alameda.  Over 80% of the power consumed in Alameda is generated by these renewable, emission-free resources.
 
Methane is a potent heat-trapping greenhouse gas and a key contributor to global climate change.  LFGTE projects significantly reduce methane emissions from landfills and carry the added benefit of offsetting the use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil for power generation.  Alameda is a leader in the utilization of renewable and greenhouse-gas-free power.