Anaergia to generate renewable energy for the Bridgeport wastewater treatment plant

BURLINGTON, CANADA: Anaergia Inc. announced a strategic 20-year partnership with the City of Bridgeport WPCA, Connecticut that will enable the city to utilize renewable electricity generated from organic waste including wastewater sludge and food scraps using advanced anaerobic digestion technology.

The anaerobic digestion facility will generate over 10 million kWh of renewable electricity per year enough to power more than 1,000 homes. The project will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by cutting the need to haul biosolids and diverting food waste from landfill/incineration in support of Connecticut public act 11-217 for recycling of organic materials by large generators.

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said: "This project with Anaergia is another step toward realizing our vision outlined in the City of Bridgeport's BGreen 2020 sustainability plan to help create jobs, save taxpayers money, and fight climate change. Generating clean energy from organic waste creates a 'win-win' scenario for us, enabling our city to tackle tough waste management challenges, cut costs and create a renewable energy source for our city."

Steve Watzeck, CEO of Anaergia said: "We are proud to partner on this renewable energy project with the City of Bridgeport and the WPCA. Our solution platform enables the city to transform what was once waste into a valuable resource. This project will serve as a showcase for other municipalities looking to implement sustainability programs that drive energy independence and reduce operating costs."

Anaerobic digestion is a process which uses natural micro-organisms to break down biodegradable material, and is widely used in the generation of biogas in wastewater treatment plants and agricultural applications throughout the world. Municipal wastewater treatment facilities are large consumers of energy and the use of biogas to offset the facility energy requirements provides significant benefits.

In this case, the energy generated from the process will be used by the West Side wastewater treatment facility which has a treatment capacity of 30 million gallons per day for operational requirements and to provide energy supply resiliency in the event of a power grid failure.
Anaergia, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Anaergia Services LLC. will design, build, own, finance and operate the anaerobic digestion and cogeneration facility to be located at the West side wastewater treatment plant site.

Once operational, the facility will digest more than 10,000 dry tons per year of biosolids from the two wastewater treatment plants in Bridgeport and source separated organic materials from commercial generators. The strategic location of the Bridgeport anaerobic digestion facility will help in the diversion of source separated organics from landfills and incineration, as required by Connecticut Public Act 11-217 for large commercial generators to divert organic materials based on their proximity to processing facilities.