Capstone Turbine Corp. announced that the city of Sheboygan, Wis., received an award from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLSLCI) for nearing self-sufficiency at its wastewater treatment plant using microturbines.
Sheboygan officials were the only GLSLCI members in the U.S. and Canada to receive the Wege Small Cities Sustainability Best Practices Award, which recognizes member cities working to protect the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, restore them and improve the quality of the water resources for future generations.
GLSLCI is a bi-national coalition of mayors and other local officials that work actively with federal, state and provincial governments.
Rather than flare excess methane gas—the byproduct from sewage treatment processes that has a greenhouse gas impact on the atmosphere 21 times greater than carbon dioxide—the Sheboygan plant uses the methane to fuel 10 Capstone C30 and two C200 microturbines in a combined heat and power application.
Using waste methane as fuel, the microturbines fulfill 90% of the plant's annual energy needs and nearly eliminate the need to purchase natural gas for heating.
Source: Capstone Turbine Corp.