American Biogas Council report shows role of wastewater recycling for bioenergy

In Washington, the American Biogas Council (ABC) released new data showing the extensive role municipal wastewater facilities can play to recycle organic waste into renewable energy and fertilizer using biogas systems. Today, more than 1,200 U.S. wastewater treatment plants capture biogas from their wastewater sludge and use it to produce the electricity equivalent of 7.3 billion kWh per year. The data also show significant untapped potential: About 3,800 additional wastewater facilities – over three times as many – could build biogas capture systems but have not. If every suitable wastewater facility installed biogas systems, the sector could capture 171.8 billion cubic feet of biogas each year – enough energy for 1.3 million U.S. households.

The ABC’s research provides the first comprehensive survey of U.S. biogas capture systems at wastewater plants in more than a decade. The analysis draws on data collected from more than 5,000 wastewater plants that treat at least a million gallons of wastewater a day (1 MGD).