STAMFORD, Conn., July 18 GE Energy Financial Services announced it is investing in one of the largest gas-to-energy landfill projects.
GEFS, the energy investing unit of GE said it wanted to diversify its renewable energy portfolio through its acquisition of a 90 percent interest in the Scholl Canyon Landfill Gas Corp.
The landfill gas project in Glendale, Calif., is one of the largest in the United States. No financial information about the transaction was released by GE but SCLGC, an affiliate of Palmer Capital Corp. will continue to operate the project.
GE had originally invested by supplying loans to the project in 2002. The project captures and uses the methane emitted from the landfill to create energy. Methane is one of the greenhouse gases and when released, is considered a cause of global climate change.
In Glendale, a pipeline carries the methane from the landfill to the 250-megawatt Grayson Power Plant. It is combusted and used to supply electricity to about 10,000 homes.
It is estimated that the project prevents about 615,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
"This acquisition draws upon our expertise in both renewable energy technology and project finance to help us diversify our renewable energy footprint and achieve our goal of investing $4 billion by 2010 in renewable energy," said Kevin Walsh, managing director and leader of renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
