SWANA announces 2012 Excellence Award winner

SILVER SPRING, MD. — The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) announced the recipients of its 2012 excellence awards. The Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority (GTRSWMA) in Starkville, Miss., was selected as the recipient of the Gold (top) award in the Landfill Gas Utilization category.

SWANA’s Excellence Awards Program recognizes outstanding solid waste programs and facilities that advance the practice of environmentally and economically sound solid waste management through their commitment to utilizing effective technologies and processes in system design and operations, advancing worker and community health and safety, and implementing successful public education and outreach programs.

The Starkville landfill is located in a relatively remote area, so there were few, if any, entities nearby that could beneficially use the landfill gas (LFG) directly to supplement other fuel supplies. The LFG-to-energy project was made possible in October 2010, when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) included the Starkville site in its Generation Partners program. The completed facility became the first LFG-to-electricity project in Mississippi.

The project, constructed by SCS Field Services, came online in less than one year and is now contributing just under 1 megawatt of renewable energy to the regional grid. The overall project team included Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority, Energy Partners Tennessee Valley Authority and 4-County Electric Power Association, GE Energy-Jenbacher Gas Engines, LFG Specialties, Neel-Schaffer, Riley, Park, Hayden & Associates, Atwell & Gent, and SCS Field Services.

Jimmy Sloan, Executive Director of GTRSWMA, said, “We are excited to serve as a model for the development of innovative landfill gas-to-electricity projects to help Mississippi diversify its energy resources and improve the environment. Our project will also provide an important new revenue stream that we will use to help keep our landfill fees as low as possible for area residents and businesses in these challenging economic times.”

In September 2011, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour toured the GTRSWMA facility and praised the project for supporting the state’s energy and economic priorities. Gov. Barbour said, ‘Mississippi’s energy policy is simple: produce more affordable abundant American energy. This project at Golden Triangle Regional Landfill fits in well with our state strategy to have diverse energy resources to support our long-term economic growth.”