Ameresco to develop biogas cogeneration facility in California

Ameresco, a cleantech and renewable energy company listed in New York, on April 8 announced the signing of a nearly $140mn contract to develop and construct a biogas cogeneration facility for the Sacramento Area Sewer District (SacSewer). The facility will be located at the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility near Elk Grove, California.

The on-site renewable energy facility will harness biogas, a byproduct of the solids treatment process at the EchoWater facility, to generate renewable electricity and heat. This will be achieved through the integration of a 13.4 MW cogeneration plant utilising both fuel cell and engine technology.

By incorporating a fuel cell system, the project aims to significantly reduce pollutant emissions, establishing itself as a clean and reliable baseload dispatchable resource, the company said. Moreover, the system is designed with expandability in mind, allowing for the potential future production of hydrogen.

“Capturing and repurposing biogenic methane, that is already in our environment and produced by society, to displace fossil fuel is a powerful example of the circular economy in action, where waste is not discarded, but turned into a valuable asset," Michael Bakas, executive vice president of Ameresco, said. 

Construction of the biogas cogeneration facility is slated for completion by July 2026.