Berkeley Green Power Project to Provide Renewable Energy and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Berkeley County, Blue Source, Google and Santee Cooper announce the Lowcountry’s first landfill gas-to-energy project
 
MONCKS CORNER, SC – May 26, 2010 –  In a Lowcountry first, Berkeley County Water & Sanitation (BCWS), Blue Source, Google and Santee Cooper today announced the Berkeley Green Power Project, a joint effort to generate renewable green power and reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by the county landfill.

I am very pleased and humbled by the key role that Berkeley County played in putting together this first-class project. The joint effort of these national and global industry leaders makes an affirming statement that together we can make a difference in our communities, of whatever size, by destroying pollutants and creating clean, alternative energy resources, says Berkeley County Supervisor Dan Davis.
 
Decomposing landfill waste produces methane, a gas 21 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. To reduce the impact of the landfill, methane can be collected instead of released directly. Once collected, the methane can be burned directly or used to generate electricity in a power generating station. BCWS owns and operates approximately 60 landfill-gas extraction wells at its county landfill. Starting this fall, the methane captured in these wells will be piped to Santee Cooper’s new Berkeley Green Power Generating Station. There, the gas will generate 3 megawatts of electricity—enough to power 1,500 average-sized homes in the Southeast. In the meantime, BCWS is flaring the methane, which also reduces the impact of the methane on the climate.
 
This type of greenhouse gas reduction has value as a carbon offset. Google has signed a contract to purchase all of the carbon offsets created by this project through 2013, which will be used to help meet its company-wide goal of carbon neutrality. Through 2013, this project will create an estimated 200,000-300,000 metric tons of carbon offsets, comparable to the emissions from the electricity consumed by approximately 30,000 to 45,000 U.S. households in a year. Berkeley County Water & Sanitation retained Blue Source to help manage, market and sell the certified carbon offsets generated by this project.

“This project is a terrific example of how public and private sectors can work together in the voluntary carbon market to make a positive impact on our environment,” said Annika Colston, vice president of Blue Source.  “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating new sources of energy takes forward-looking actions from various stakeholders such as utility companies, local governments and the private sector, and this project exemplifies the rewards and benefits available when such progressive actions are undertaken.” 

Google’s Berkeley County data center held its grand-opening celebration in 2008. Data centers are facilities that house computers that run Google’s search and other services. Google builds its data centers with advanced energy efficiency methods in place, which results in datacenters that use half the energy of typical facilities. In 2007, Google made a voluntary commitment to become a carbon neutral company, a goal achieved by increasing the energy efficiency of operations, by pursuing the use and creation of clean and renewable sources of electricity and, finally, by purchasing carbon offsets for the emissions that can’t be reduced directly. Google’s agreement to purchase the carbon offsets generated by the Berkeley County Landfill is a continuation of this commitment.
 
“Google travels the globe searching for projects that meet its sustainability requirements and I’m proud that a project was found right here in Berkeley County,” said Eric Wages, Google’s operations manager at the Berkeley County datacenter. “We recognize our role as an energy consumer and work hard to ensure that we offset the impact of our operations on the environment. It is through high-quality projects like this one in Berkeley County that we continue to be responsible stewards of our environment—both on a local and on a global scale.
 
Google’s criteria for renewable energy projects are based on two primary factors: that emission reductions would not have occurred without carbon financing and that emission reductions can be verified to a recognized standard. To determine that the Berkeley County project met these requirements, Google conducted thorough research, including site visits, review of the project’s methodology and review of the project’s financial model. Ultimately, this project fit the company’s requirement that investment in a project will make a real difference in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
 
This is a great environmental story, for three reasons, said Lonnie Carter, Santee Cooper president and CEO. Santee Cooper makes decisions about building renewable generation based on reliability, environmental impact and cost. Landfill generation scores on all three fronts. Second, methane gas is a very potent greenhouse gas, and this project captures methane gas. Third, by using methane to generate electricity, we are using—and not wasting—a viable source of energy. In fact, this project is full-circle. Homes generate waste, which produces methane. We are using that methane to generate electricity, which in turn powers homes.
 
Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s leader in Green Power generation. The state-owned utility is building the Berkeley Green Power Generating Station at the BCWS site and will purchase the landfill gas to operate the generators. Santee Cooper expects the station to be online in fall 2010.
 
The Berkeley Green Power Station will be Santee Cooper’s sixth landfill generating station and the first one in the Lowcountry. Its first project opened in 2001 in Horry County. The others are based in Anderson, Georgetown, Lee and Richland counties. All told, Santee Cooper generates 22 megawatts of renewable green power in South Carolina today from landfill and solar stations, and the Berkeley County project will increase that total to 25 megawatts. Santee Cooper has also promoted energy conservation for more than four decades.

Berkeley County’s road to supporting sustainability practices first began back in 1991 when the Berkeley County Council authorized BCWS to develop regulations and procedures to manage its sold waste and the operation of its solid waste facilities—with an eye on making it more sustainable and cost efficient.
 
As the community has grown from 142,651 residents in 2000 to more than 170,000 residents today, and with the increased awareness of both citizens and companies on how they can support sustainable practices, BCSW created a master plan in 2007 to determine how it would address these opportunities.

About Berkeley County Water & Sanitation
Berkeley County Water & Sanitation is a self-supporting public utility that serves more than 40,000 customers. Its goal is to provide safe, reliable water and sanitation services at a competitive non-profit rate in the spirit of a publicly owned utility. For more information, visit www.bcwsa.com. 
 
About Blue Source, LLC
Blue Source offers multiple approaches for reducing, sequestering and, where practical, beneficially using greenhouse gas emissions to create environmental and economic value. The company provides experience and access to capital for project development across all industries, including the technical resources to produce high quality carbon offsets for North America’s voluntary and compliance markets, and has projects listed on all of North America’s leading public registries, including the Climate Action Reserve, the Voluntary Carbon Standard, the American Carbon Registry, and the Alberta Emissions Offset Registry. For more than 10
years, Blue Source has been a climate change solution for leading businesses. www.bluesource.com.
 
About Google Inc.
Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.
 
About Santee Cooper
Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility, the state’s leader in generating renewable Green Power and the state’s largest power producer. The ultimate source of electricity for 2 million South Carolinians, Santee Cooper is dedicated to being the state’s leading resource for improving the quality of life for the people of South Carolina. For more information, visit www.santeecooper.com.