American Environmental Landfill Opens Waste-to-Energy Plant

American Environmental Landfill Inc. (AEL) has launched a waste-to-energy project at its landfill operation in Sand Springs, Okla.

AEL said it plans to eventually generate close to 4.8 megawatts with its landfill gas-to-energy project, the Sand Springs-based company said in a news release. AEL began its waste-to-energy project in 2008 and now has the capacity to treat millions of pounds of waste per year.

The energy project will generate enough electricity to power 4,800 homes in Oklahoma, the company said.

The system was designed and installed by Pittsburgh-based Montauk Energy. AEL is now piping the methane into a processing and generation plant under a contract with Montauk. The electricity then goes to the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, which supplies power to Pawhuska and 38 other small Oklahoma communities.

 “We’re very excited about our system and having it up and running,” said Tom Hill, CEO of Tulsa-based American Waste Control Inc., which owns AEL. “Combine this new waste-to-energy process with our recent material recovery facility upgrade … and we have Tulsa’s only fully integrated recovery alternative.”