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Elk River <br /> Municipal Utilities <br /> 13069 Orono Parkway <br /> P.O.Box 430 <br /> Elk River,MN 55330 <br /> (763)441-2020 <br /> UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br /> TO: FROM: <br /> Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Tom Sagstetter—Conservation and Key <br /> John Dietz—Chair Accounts Manager <br /> Daryl Thompson—Vice Chair <br /> Al Nadeau—Trustee <br /> MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br /> November 13, 2012 5.1 <br /> SUBJECT: <br /> Landfill Gas to Electric 10 Year Anniversary <br /> BACKGROUND: <br /> On October 10th ERMU hosted a 10 year anniversary celebration at the landfill to electric generation <br /> facility. The event took place in the Environmental Learning Center and was well attended. There were <br /> 44 individuals that attended. Present and past County Commissioner's staff was in attendance along with <br /> representatives from Waste Management,the City of Elk River, Star News,Minnesota Division of <br /> Energy Resources,and other interested groups. <br /> DISCUSSION: <br /> The event was a big success and there was tremendous support for the existing project and the <br /> possibilities for future expansions. <br /> The truly unique concept of this facility is that Sherburne County, Elk River Municipal Utilities, and <br /> Waste Management were able to partner to make this such a successful operation. The County provided <br /> an interest free loan to ERMU. ERMU owns the facility and contracts with Waste Management to <br /> operate it. While, Waste Management owns the methane fuel supply and sells that to ERMU. These <br /> operating agreements make this site very successful from both economic and environmental aspects. <br /> This power plant allows for the creation of energy from a byproduct of the landfill. Without this <br /> generation facility these landfill gases would be flared off and exhausted into the atmosphere. The Elk <br /> River Landfill Gas to Electric Generation Plant currently generates the equivalent of 10% of the annual <br /> electric sales for Elk River Municipal Utilities. And, this power plant is a Public Power facility; it is <br /> owned by the people who receive the direct benefit of the facility. Because it is local power,there is no <br /> need for high voltage transmission lines. The power is generated locally, used locally, and owned locally. <br /> E PyOWERED BY <br /> Reliable Public <br /> ® INATURE <br /> Power Provider P O W E R E D To S E R V E <br />