Vectren begins generating electricity from Indiana landfill

Vectren recently received regulatory approval to take ownership of a Pike County facility, which generates electricity by capturing landfill gas emitted from decomposing trash and using it as a fuel source to power two generators. The renewable energy project, which was developed by Veolia Environmental Services Solid Waste and Energy Systems Group (ESG), will generate 3.2 MW or enough energy to power approximately 2,000 homes.

Vectren, together with ESG and Veolia, expects to generate electricity from the landfill site for the next 20 to 25 years. By capturing these landfill gases, the sustainable project is helping provide environmental benefits equivalent to the removal of emissions from more than 22,000 cars per year or the planting of about 27,000 acres of forest annually.

For Vectren, this is the third renewable energy project in the last two years. In December 2007, the utility signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with a Benton County, Indiana wind farm for 30 MW and recently received regulatory approval to buy an additional 50 MW of wind power from Phase II of the Fowler Ridge wind farm, which is under construction in Benton County. Together, these three initiatives create enough renewable energy to power 25,000 homes and allow Vectren to meet nearly 5 percent of its customers’ needs with renewable energy.