09.22.04

Cantwell Secures Funding for King County's Wastewater Power Project in Senate Spending Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced today that she has secured funding for an innovative King County project that uses wastewater to produce electricity. Cantwell secured $400,000 for the environmentally friendly power plant in the Senate version of the Department of Veterans Affairs/Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill.

"When we talk about alternative forms of energy, we think hydropower, solar power, and wind power," Cantwell said. "King County went a step further, developing a clean power source that also reduces air emissions from the wastewater treatment plant."

Normally, biodegradable solid waste, the byproduct of sewage wastewater, is stored in tanks for about three weeks, allowing bacteria to consume the waste. This process produces methane gas. While most wastewater treatment facilities simply burn the methane, releasing harmful greenhouse gases, King County's South Wastewater Treatment Facility treatment plant in Renton converts it into electricity using fuel cells.

The fuel cell power plant began operations in April of this year, and has clocked in over 2,000 hours of 1-megawatt energy production, enough to power 1,000 homes. Instead, though, the electricity produced by the fuel cells goes toward powering the treatment plant, reducing the energy costs to the county, and ultimately, taxpayers.

King County Executive Ron Sims applauded Cantwell's leadership on the fuel cell project, which he believes has the potential to provide utility customers with extra protection from future energy crises.

"Senator Cantwell's diligence and leadership in securing funding for this new technology will help deliver a wide a wide range of benefits to utilities and people across the nation," Sims said. "This fuel cell demonstration project has tremendous potential for utilities to turn waste into a valuable resource and to reduce air pollution for the benefit of all. We thank Senator Cantwell for making an innovative public-private partnership like this one viable."

Renton Mayor Kathy Keolker-Wheeler noted Renton's legacy of technological development.

"Since the dawn of the jet age, Renton has been a proving ground for innovation that changes the way we live," Keolker-Wheeler said. "This exciting project demonstrates that Renton is an ideal environment for the clean energy industry to take hold and grow. We thank Senator Cantwell for her leadership to help make this happen."

The Fuel Cell Demonstration Project received an $8.3 million grant from the EPA in 1998 to begin a two-year demonstration project to design, construct, operate and evaluate the largest "Molten Fuel Cell" facility in the country. After the demonstration project is over, King County will be free to increase the power production of the fuel cells beyond 1 megawatt. The treatment plant currently processes enough methane gas to produce 4 megawatts. It would take 7.5 megawatts to fully power the water treatment plant.

Along with Sims and Keolker-Wheeler, Cantwell spoke at the Fuel Cell Demonstration Project's groundbreaking in Renton in April of 2003.

Added Cantwell, "This project is an example of the kind of forward-thinking innovation that will power America's economy this century. I want to thank King County Executive Ron Sims and Renton Mayor Kathy Keolker-Wheeler for their commitment to the fuel cell project. We can all be proud of the hard work and ingenuity that has gone into exploring this exciting energy source."