GEORGETOWN, S.C. —  A new methane gas facility at the Georgetown County landfill will start putting power on the grid by next month.

The green power generating station, which uses methane produced from decomposing household trash, takes a potentially harmful substance and turns it into renewable energy, according to officials from Santee Cooper.

The generating station, dedicated on Earth Day, is the fifth one built by Santee Cooper.

According to information from Santee Cooper, the company reached a milestone in 2008 with the amount of energy produced with landfill methane gas.

Thursday’s event drew officials from Santee Cooper and Georgetown County.

The methane gas collected at the landfill goes straight to the generating station, where it is converted to energy, said Bernie Garrett, an engineer at the county landfill.

“The system has been constructed and within 30 days it should be up and running,’’ Garrett said.

The county has other partnerships with Santee Cooper, such the collection of used cooking oil to make fuel.

American Gypsum, a company on U.S. 17 South, also uses byproduct from the Winyah Generating Station to make wallboard.

“This project is yet another example of how agencies can work together to produce benefits for our citizens,” County Administrator Sel Hemingway said in a press release distributed by Santee Cooper.  

“This process transforms a detriment to our environment and a cost to county operations into a clean source of electricity for our citizens. We applaud the efforts of our staff and Santee Cooper to make this a reality, and we encourage the development of other partnerships in the future.”

“Landfill methane gas-generation is part of Santee Cooper Green, the utility's initiative to “go green,” helping its customers “go green,” save energy and save money,’’ according to information from the company.

“In 2008, Santee Cooper announced an aggressive goal to generate 40 percent of its energy from non-greenhouse gas emitting resources, biomass fuels, and energy efficiency and conservation by 2020.”

By Kelly M. Fuller

Kfuller@gtowntimes.com