Biomass Magazine – BMW Manufacturing Marks 20-Year Anniversary of Biogas Project

For decades, the BMW Group has been using innovative technologies in its efforts to improve sustainability. It was 20 years ago that BMW Manufacturing started using recycled methane gas from a local landfill to provide electricity and hot water for the plant. The result of this groundbreaking idea: more than 9,200 tons of CO2 emissions have been reduced each year, which is equivalent to eliminating CO2 emissions from vehicles driving 23.5 million miles every year. Currently, about 20 percent of Plant Spartanburg’s total energy needs (electricity and heat) are provided by landfill gas.

Because of the great success of this project, BMW Manufacturing announced on April 20 that it will extend its partnership with Ameresco Inc. for an additional eight years. Ameresco constructed the 9.5-mile pipeline from the Palmetto Landfill to Plant Spartanburg. This means nearly 74,000 tons of CO2 emissions will be reduced over the next eight years.

“For two decades, this project has been a win-win for Upstate South Carolina. It greatly reduces CO2 emissions, resulting in cleaner, healthier air for everyone to breathe,” said Dr. Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “Intelligent resource management and the fight against climate change are expressions of our sense of responsibility. The BMW Group will reduce CO2 emissions per vehicle by 40 percent from 2019 levels by 2030 across the spectrum.”

“The old saying that ‘one person’s trash is another person’s treasure’ is literally true for our landfill gas-to-energy project,” said Manfred Pernitsch, vice president of real estate management and environmental protection for the Americas. “This project has greatly reduced greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution for two decades. We have used the energy produced by our turbines to heat the office and production areas as well as heat our water, saving BMW several million dollars each year.”

When the partnership began, Ameresco designed and built the 9.5-mile pipeline from the Palmetto Landfill to Plant Spartanburg as well as the gas processing and compression facilities.

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