BMW Project Wins Award from EPA

The US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy recently recognized BMW Manufacturing as a 2003 Green Power Leadership Award Winner. BMW was honored at the Third Annual Green Power Leadership Award Ceremony held in Chicago, IL on November 4, 2003 for their commitment, through their use of renewable energy, to contributing to a healthier, cleaner planet.

BMW uses landfill gas in four turbines at its Spartanburg, SC facility. The landfill gas is delivered to the turbines by a delivery system that was designed, installed, and is now operated by Ameresco. These turbines generate enough power to meet 25% of their power needs, and 100% of their cooling and thermal needs.

By transforming the landfill gas into electricity for the plant, BMW achieves a double environmental benefit: they use a resource that otherwise would have been wasted through flaring, and they prevent the need for other more polluting forms of power to be generated. The project will reduce harmful green house gas emissions of methane, a component of landfill gas, equivalent to driving 105 million miles per year or more than 4,000 times around the earth. Additionally, the green power being generated by this project is equivalent to the amount of power needed to heat 15,000 homes a year.