Energy operations at the Fairless Hills, Pa. Steam Generating Station are now running 100% on methane gas from a landfill. Under management of Philadelphia-based Exelon On-Site Energy and Services, the generating station provides the U.S. Steel Fairless Works plant site with low-cost steam and competitively priced green power. To convert the methane gas from the landfill to energy, Exelon purchased the U.S. Steel power plant, upgraded the boilers, and constructed a landfill gas pipeline. This allowed the former USX power plant to migrate away from fossil fuels. Exelon purchases the gas from Waste Management Inc., owners of two local landfills.
"The Fairless site is the largest project of its kind that is fully operational today in the Mid-Atlantic region," says Bill Brady, president of Exelon On-Site Energy and Services. "By harnessing the energy that results from burning methane, a greenhouse gas, we not only contribute to a healthier environment, but cost-effectively provide in excess of 100,000 pounds per hour of steam continuously to a major industrial plant. We also generate approximately 10 megawatts of electricity."