City of Sheboygan wins sustainability award for self-powering wastewater treatment plant

From a news release issued by Capstone Turbine Corporation:

CHATSWORTH, Calif., July 7, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (Nasdaq:CPST - News), the world's leading clean technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, today announced that the City of Sheboygan, Wisconsin received a prestigious award from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLSLCI) for nearing self-sufficiency at its wastewater treatment plant using Capstone microturbines.

The city of Sheboygan was the only GLSLCI member city in the U.S. and Canada to receive the Wege Small Cities Sustainability Best Practices Award, which recognizes GLSLCI member cities working to protect the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, restore them, and improve the quality of the water resources for future generations. GLSLCI is a bi-national coalition of mayors and other local officials that work actively with federal, state, and provincial governments.

Rather than flare excess methane gas -- the byproduct from sewage treatment processes that has a greenhouse gas impact on the atmosphere 21 times greater than carbon dioxide -- the Sheboygan plant uses the methane to fuel 10 Capstone C30 and two C200 microturbines in a combined heat and power (CHP) application. Using waste methane as fuel, the microturbines fulfill 90 percent of the plant's annual energy needs and nearly eliminate the need to purchase natural gas for heating.

"We wanted something that made sense for the bottom line and the environment," said Dale Doerr, the plant's Superintendent. "The Capstone cogeneration system helps protect the environment and keep our costs down."