Once the facility begins commercial operations in May it will be one of the largest municipal solid waste operations in Latin America. GE will provide three 1.4MW ecomagination J420 Jenbacher gas engines representing an estimated total output of 4.2MW with potential expansion to 10MW over five years. The current configuration should be able to produce enough power to support 13,000 average Brazilian homes.
The fuel-flexible gas engines are powered by landfill gas from solid waste decomposition which is a valuable renewable fuel consisting of methane, carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen. The new project is part of the Brazilian government’s initiative to increase the production of electricity from renewable sources thereby reducing Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions by between 36.1 and 38.9 percent from projected amounts in 2020. It should displace around 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
“This project will support São Paulo and Brazil's goals to increase the production of renewable and alternative, distributed power within the state and country” said Alexandre Alvim, director, waste-to-energy and business development, Estre Ambiental. “GE's solution provides us with a cost-effective, cleaner way to produce energy.”
According to Juan Galan, general manager (Brazil) of GE’s distributed power business, the engines are quick to install, easy to relocate, reliable and fuel-flexible. They are also part of GE's ecomagination portfolio and must therefore demonstrate both improved economic value and environmental performance.
Earlier in April, GE launched its Distributed Power business in Latin America with a launch ceremony in Mexico City on April 8th. The business is focused on power generation at or near the point of use and includes a potential $1.4 billion investment in technology to develop new and improved products for customers.
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