PCSR INFORMATION FROM ERL 06-23-2009

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BMW Manufacturing Co. ~ Printable Version ra~,civ~~ The amount of methane gas, a major cause of the greenhouse effect, percolating from the Palmetto Landfill was equal to the emissions caused by driving 145 million miles a year. At BMW, we didn't close our eyes to the effects; instead, we baked faraway to put it use. The result was the BMW Gas to Energy Project: in every sense, a groundbreaking achievement. A reservoir of unta[d paver. i as 00 ed ~n rfram tl e nearbedPaf metto Mandfiflc At 4that moment,gthe fac lity's en vlronmental leaderbh p, agai ,nbralkee gew ground - ifteraily and f guratively. Tl~e turbines as-e powered by the facility`s unique Gas-to-Energy project. Developed by engineers from BMW and utilities partner, Ameresco, the alternative energy system captures 5,000 cubic feet of methane gas per minute from the landfill. The pressurized gas is then transported to the Energy Center on the BMW campus. Inside the Energy Center, the methane gas is used to turn the turbines which supply approximately 63°l0 of the energy demands for the BMW campus. Shortly after the start-up of the new system, BMW Manufacturing Co. realized that the landfill was producing more methane than the turbines could burn, so engineers looked for other areas within the plant that couid exploit the once wasted resource. They immediately focused an the Paint Slap - a single department that uses half the plant`s energy. lNorking with Durr Industries, the original designers and installers of the factory's paint shop equipment, the team began designing a rriassive overhaul of the Paint Shop. Four huge convection ovens, water chillers and other equipment would need to be canve~~ted from natural gas to landfill gas. It would be one of the largest green energy projects attempted in the industry. The solution was designed in typical BMVd fashion. Simply, elegantly. As the gas comes into the Energy Center, the line splits. One continues to the turbines, another passes through a metering station before it enters the Paint Shop. Here it is used directly to fue! the Paint Shap oven burners, making BMW Manufacturing Co. the only automobile manufacturer to feature a green painting operation.. What we didn't realize then was that the potential for using this alternative power source was greater even than the voracious neerJs of the Paint Shop. Even after the Paint Shop conversion was completed, more methane from the fandfil! was available far use in other areas. We have found ample ways to put the once-wasted emission to use. Today, landfill gas is used to beat a bailer at the energy center and is being used to fuel the burner for the incinerator as weft as another burner for one of the factory`s pollution control devices. Thanks to the expanded use of the methane gas, BMV+J Manufacturing Co. hao succeeded in reducing Ct} emissions by approximately 17,000 tons per year. All while supplying the plant with 63 io of its energy needs and solidifying our position as a leader in environmental resource manaGement. http://www.bmwusfactory.com/print.aspx?id=238 6/8/2009 [^_~c fn ~narr~ae Prn%E?d"i"•_ CnC1SE!CVc~t1011 111 ACttC311,