Biogas-to-energy facility for PWD plant in Bridesburg

The Philadelphia Water Department has awarded a $47.5 million contract to a Massachusetts renewable energy firm to build a biogas-to-energy facility at the Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant.

The Business Journal reports that Ameresco got a 16-year contract to design, construct and maintain a new biogas facility at the Bridesburg plant, which will generate heat and electricity from methane captured in the plant’s digesters. The project is expected to save the Water Department $12 million in energy costs through the contract term.

The biogas project is a priority outlined in the city’s Greenworks plan, as part of the energy targets geared at sourcing renewable energy for the city’s electricity demand. The new biogas facility could produce 50% of the treatment plant’s electricity use.

The project is financed by Bank of America’s Energy Services unit and qualifies for an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant funding.