Co-digestion facility planned for California

A new co-digestion facility will be built in California after the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (SRCSD) joined forces to help produce renewable energy.

Fats, oils, grease and liquid food processing waste will be used in the digestion system, producing power for a plant in the southern Sacramento County.

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $1.45 million (€1.1 million) in funding has been given, and the California Energy Commission has also pledged $100,000 towards the project. The rest of the funding will be produced by SRCSD for the facility, and total construction costs are expected to be just over $2 million.

The plant will be situated at the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant in Elk Grove and should save local businesses money, providing them with another avenue of which to dispose their waste.

The biogas produced from the plant is expected to power about 2,000 homes in the local area and existing infrastructure will be used for the build to help lower costs.

Following a number of years and a pilot test in 2009 that was successful, the new plant is expected to come online in December 2012.