E+E Leader – BMW: Spartanburg – A Model of Sustainability and Innovation

For decades, the BMW Group has been at the forefront of sustainability and innovation in the automotive industry. In 2001, BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg, South Carolina, started using recycled methane gas from a local landfill to provide electricity and hot water for the plant. This groundbreaking project has reduced more than 9,200 tons of CO2 emissions each year, which is equivalent to eliminating CO2 emissions from vehicles driving 23.5 million miles every year.

The success of the project has prompted BMW Manufacturing to 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, and this extension will reduce nearly 74,000 tons of CO2 emissions over the next eight years.

This initiative has proven to be beneficial for Upstate South Carolina, as it has significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, while simultaneously saving BMW millions of dollars annually. The methane gas generated from the landfill is captured using a multitude of gas extraction wells and then subjected to a process that removes moisture and impurities, followed by compression at the Recovery and Compression Station located within the landfill. The compressed methane then travels through a pipeline that stretches over 9.5 miles to reach Plant Spartanburg.

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