Client News
Renewable-energy plant debuts in north San Jose
Facility -- the largest in the world to use dry anaerobic-digestion technology -- has implications for Palo Alto
A facility that can turn people's food scraps and yard trimmings into energy and compost opened in north San Jose Nov. 22, and some Palo Alto leaders are hailing it as an encouraging sign that the city might be able to build one, too.
The low-lying, concrete-and-steel structure sits atop 23 acres of San Jose's former landfill, next to the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge off Highway 237. It is the world's largest plant to employ a technology called "dry-fermentation anaerobic digestion," according to Zero Waste Energy Development Company, which built the plant.
Using bacteria and an oxygen-deprived environment, the process breaks down matter so that it releases a gas, methane, that can be used for electricity and auto fuel. The remaining waste is treated, turning it into compost.