12 March 2001

Manukau Council In Green Venture At Whitford Landfill

Plans are being made to generate energy from the Whitford landfill, using gas from the site.

Manukau City Council and Waste Management Ltd are joint venture partners in Waste Disposal Services Ltd, which operates the landfill. They are to investigate the possibilities the site offers for “green energy” production, which has the potential benefit of generating revenue, cutting operating costs of the site, and promoting a more environmentally-friendly operation.

A gas-to-energy plant is to be installed, with two generators, each capable of producing one megawatt of power from next summer.

It is expected the energy produced will supply the operating needs of the site and the surplus will be sold to the national grid, thus generating revenue for the venture partners. Projections are that Whitford will ultimately be able to generate up to five megawatts.

Waste Management also operates power production facilities at other landfills.

City Manager Colin Dale says “The project is only small scale but it is a positive and exciting development, as we are committed to energy conservation and to environmentally-friendly policies. These policies often save us money as well.

“For example the Council last year saved $450,000 from its energy bill. Part of this was achieved by renegotiating our supply contract, but other factors were making sensible changes such as putting in low-energy light bulbs in the Civic Centre. And we intend to take further steps in this direction.”

For more information contact:
Gabrielle Hinton
Media Liaison
Corporate Communications Unit
Manukau City Council
Phone: (09) 2628900 x 8650
Fax: (09) 2625759
Email: ghinton@manukau.govt.nz