Jones Island Podcast - Alexa Hernandez

The podcast discusses biogas and its development in Milwaukee. Biogas is produced through the breakdown of organic materials by bacteria in an oxygen-free environment. It provides clean and renewable energy, reduces methane emissions, and lowers reliance on fossil fuels. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) uses landfill gas instead of natural gas to reduce its carbon footprint and save money. They have a pipeline that transports landfill gas to the Jones Island facility, where it is converted into electricity. Biogas is cost-efficient and environmentally friendly, and it is part of the MMSD's vision for an energy-efficient water facility in the future. Hello and welcome to Milwaukee's Water Podcast, where we share the recent discoveries and updates on Milwaukee's water development. I am your host, Alexa Hernandez, and in today's episode, we will discuss biogas and how it is improving in our beautiful Milwaukee City. We'll discuss the ins and outs of the local biogas sites and how the Milwaukee City is developing its biogas industry, including our local site, the MMSD, also known as the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. According to the American Biogas Council, the U.S. has more than 2,400 sites producing biogas in all 50 states. Currently, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin reports 136 operating biogas sites and 35 landfills that capture gas. There are three main popular biogas sites in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which are the FCPC Renewable Generation, Jones Island, which we will be focusing on for this podcast, and Renew. In order to understand the important changes biogas is making to our city, I will share some information on the basics of what biogas is and its benefits to our community. So biogas is produced after organic materials like plants and animals, which are then broken down by bacteria in an oxygen-free environment. This process is also known as anaerobic digestion. This system helps recycle the organic materials and then turns them into biogas containing energy and other valuable soil products. Anaerobic digestion occurs in nature, landfills, and livestock managing systems. You may be listening to this and asking yourself, what is the importance of biogas and why does it affect me, or why should I be concerned about it as a community member? Well, biogas has many benefits. It helps provide clean, renewable, and a reliable source of power instead of coal or natural gas. In comparison to natural gas, biogas can also be a source of peak power. By using biogas, it helps limit the amount of methane released rapidly and reduces having to have a heavy reliance on fossil fuels. The ESSI reports using biogas will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 91% relative to petroleum gasoline. Biogas also helps the climate by lowering the cost of waste and benefit local economies. This brings us to our next topic, the MMSD and our local biogas site. The Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility is located on the shores of Lake Michigan where it makes melurganite, a fertilizer trusted by experts since 1926. Today this facility is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Using water is very energy intensive, therefore the MMSD's energy plan has identified ways to incorporate renewable energy, to reduce energy costs, price volatility, and greenhouse gases, and to provide energy security. Milwaukee's Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility is using landfill gas instead of natural gas, which helps reduce the MMSD's carbon footprint, allowing for the purchase of landfill gas to be half the cost of natural gas, making customers save millions of dollars. The MMSD has dedicated itself in converting the biogas into electricity, producing the power it needs at Jones Island during the dry weather. This is done through a 19-mile long pipeline that transports landfill gas from the Emerald Park Landfill in Muskego, Wisconsin to MMSD's Jones Island facility in Milwaukee. They've also installed a new pipeline underground for most of the route that extends 13.7 miles. It connects to an existing 5.3-mile long pipeline previously used for conveying petroleum products. The green power pipeline moves landfill gas to Jones Island with a pressure under 100 pounds per square inch. Then, three turbines at Jones Island transform the landfill gas into electricity. They have additionally replaced a natural gas burning turbine that was more than 40 years old. This is all used to produce heat and manufacture milorganite fertilizer. Overall, biogas benefits Milwaukee in various ways on the long run. Biogas is cost-efficient as well as less harmful to our environment. Biogas will continue to grow and is included in the future MMSD visions of 2035, with the goal of making the water facility energy-efficient. If you are hearing this message, you've listened to the entire episode. Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode where we covered our local Milwaukee biogas site located at the Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility. Hope you come back to Milwaukee's Water Podcast and remain an active Milwaukee community member.