Chattanooga looking to increase energy output of biosolids
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A local wastewater treatment plant could soon be a source of renewable energy.
The city of Chattanooga unveiled plans to the Industrial Development Board Monday to install a waste-to-energy system at the Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus,
A waste-to-energy system takes the organic solids from wastewater and turn them into a substitute for natural gas.
The lead administrator for the city’s Wastewater Department, Mark Heinzer, says this will make the plant more efficient.
Biosolids in storage waiting to be tested at the Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus.
Heinzer said, “We have an eternal flame here that just burns that extra gas and we have not been putting it to beneficial use, and the biosolids that come out of our process today are not as refined as they could be. So this program we are about to embark on is about to produce a much higher quality fertilizing material, and it’s going to produce a lot more of that gas that we can put to beneficial use.”
The city says this is the next step in their Clear Chattanooga Plan, designed to improve Chattanooga’s sewer system.
They hope this project can help further reduce the energy consumption of the facility, as it has already been reduced by 25 percent.
They also hope this project further positions the sewer system for Mayor Kelly’s Climate Action Plan.
Heinzer said, “It does definitely lend itself to that initiative in that the energy that we generate is going to offset a lot of the energy that we use here. I don’t know if it gets us to carbon neutral for the facility itself but it gets us a lot closer.”
The city says the total capital investment for the project is estimated to be between 130 and 150 million dollars.
They say the money will come from a variety of sources at the federal, state, and local levels.
The next step in the process is hiring a contractor by next spring, construction to begin the following Spring in 2025, and for the project to be completed in 2028.
