Methane-to-electricity project now complete

Allentown, PA— A PPL Corporation subsidiary has begun commercial operation of a 3.2-megawatt methane-to-electricity power generation system the company designed and constructed on a 2-acre site at the Frey Farm Landfill in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

PPL, which owns and operates the plant, buys methane gas daily from the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority and uses the gas to power two Caterpillar generators. PPL then sells the power into the PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity throughout seven states and the District of Columbia. Power from the landfill produces enough electricity to supply 4,000 homes.

At a dedication ceremony at the Manor Township plant, representatives from PPL’s distributed generation and energy services subsidiary said that PPL also will sell heat - a byproduct of the process - to the adjacent Turkey Hill Dairy. The amount represents about 85 percent of the thermal energy the dairy uses in its operations, and substantially reduces its boiler emissions and fuel-oil use.