Lee County Waste to Energy Facility, USA

Carbon offset funds enabled the Lee County Waste to Energy (WtE) Facility in Florida to avoid methane emissions from entering the atmosphere by capturing the methane normally produced and displaced electrical generation.

HOW IT WORKS
The Lee County WtE Facility uses a combustion process that eliminates 100% of the potential of municipal solid waste to generate methane. The heat recovered from the combustion of municipal waste is used to generate renewable electrical power or steam displacing CO₂ emissions from fossil-fuel fired power plants.

CARBON OFFSETS MADE IT HAPPEN
Without offset funds the financial payback for this installation would not have been viable and the landfill would continue to emit methane, which according to the EPA has the global warming potential of over 20 times that of carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. Use of these technologies is not common practice and yields savings in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the traditional approach.

OTHER BENEFITS OF THE INSTALLATION
The Lee County facility will also avoid greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation of municipal solid waste to distant landfills. Beyond the direct climate benefits, the installation of the Lee County Waste to Energy Facility project will reduce the risk of landfill fires or explosions along with odours associated with traditional landfills.