GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. There's new fuel coming to the pumps of the Western Slope. The city of Grand Junction partners up with a natural gas energy leader to use waste to power our vehicles.
The Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant has been burning off methane gas from their operations for years but it wasn't until recently that engineers realized the precious commodity they had at their disposal.
By harvesting the natural gas from the water treatment process, the plant can produce up to 500 gallons of natural gas fuel each day.
Grand Junction's had compressed natural gas pumps to fuel a fleet of city vehicles for a few years now but they're looking to expand.
“What we'll do here at the plant, we'll have scrubbing equipment to condition the gas, and it will discharge it into pipeline. The pipeline will be underground, and it will deliver it to the current fueling site,” says as Dan Tonello of the Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The city has partnered with a leader in natural energy production, BioCNG, to utilize their water conditioning system and River City Consultants to design and construct a pipeline that will carry the natural gas for approximately 5 miles by 2016.
Success in this fueling endeavor could set a precedent for other larger municipalities to reign in on their waste converting powers.