LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Constellation, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, and LA Sanitation today announced the start of construction of a 25-megawatt (net) biogas-fueled cogeneration plant, which will supply 100 percent of the steam and electricity produced to power LA Sanitation’s Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Councilmember Mike Bonin, and representatives from LA Sanitation and Constellation attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the Hyperion site to mark the occasion.
The cogeneration plant is expected to generate more than 173 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year and supply up to 70,000 pounds per hour of steam, using the methane captured through Hyperion’s sewage treatment process as its fuel source.
“At LA Sanitation, we are committed to protecting public health and our environment,” said LA Sanitation Director, Enrique C. Zaldivar, P.E. “Keeping our commitment means continually improving and finding innovative new ways to meet the sustainability goals that Mayor Garcetti has set for the entire city. Today's groundbreaking brings us closer to fulfilling our pledge to the people of Los Angeles.”
LA Sanitation selected Constellation as the project developer after a competitive bidding process. Constellation and its affiliate Exelon Generation will develop, construct and operate the cogeneration facility for 20 years, with an option to extend the agreement for two additional five-year terms.
“Constellation is proud to work with City of Los Angeles and LA Sanitation to develop and operate a cogeneration plant for the Hyperion facility that will help the community move toward its economic and environmental goals,” said Gary Fromer, senior vice president, distributed energy at Constellation. “Biogas-fueled cogeneration offers wastewater treatment facilities a cost-efficient, sustainable, and resilient energy source that is highly effective at reducing methane and carbon dioxide emissions.”
By using biogas fuel to generate electricity instead of brown power sources, the Hyperion cogeneration plant is expected to avoid the release of approximately 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, or the equivalent emissions from over 21,000 passenger vehicles annually, according to an estimate from LA Sanitation. In the event of an electric grid outage, the cogeneration plant has the ability to maintain operations at the wastewater treatment site.
The Hyperion cogeneration plant is Constellation’s newest project through its distributed energy business, which has more than 300 megawatts of assets in operation or under development for commercial and government customers throughout the United States. Constellation offers distributed energy solutions, including solar, cogeneration, backup generation, fuel cells, and battery storage, that may require no upfront capital from customers and may provide fixed power costs that are less than projected market rates.
Commercial operation of the Hyperion cogeneration plant is scheduled for the end of 2016.
About Constellation
Constellation is a leading competitive retail supplier of power, natural gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses across the continental United States. Constellation's family of retail businesses serves more than 2 million residential, public sector and business customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100. Baltimore-based Constellation is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with 2014 revenues of approximately $27.4 billion, and more than 32,000 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation's cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. Learn more at www.constellation.com or on Twitter at @ConstellationEG.
About LA Sanitation
As the lead agency for the City’s environmental programs and initiatives, LA Sanitation protects public health and the environment through the administration and management of three program areas: Clean Water (Wastewater), Solid Resources (Solid Waste Management) and Watershed Protection (Stormwater). These infrastructure programs collect, treat, recycle, and dispose the solid and liquid waste generated by the nation’s second largest city of more than four million residents. Through these essential public service programs, LA Sanitation delivers a triple bottom line of economic, environmental, and social benefits that sustain the quality of life in Los Angeles. For more information, please visit www.lacitysan.org.