BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 25, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - National Grid is beginning the design and construction phase of the purification system to convert biogas from the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, the largest wastewater treatment plant in New York City, into renewable natural gas for residential and commercial use. This phase of the Newtown Creek Renewable Gas Project moves forward the company's partnership with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to develop one of the first projects in the United States that directly injects renewable gas into a local distribution system.
The Newtown Creek Renewable Gas Project will use an existing waste stream to produce a reliable source of clean energy, improve air quality and help tackle climate change. The project supports New York City's environmental goals while at the same time fostering discussion in the industry about how energy providers, policymakers, regulators and other stakeholders should examine the opportunity that renewable gas offers to meet our country's growing energy demands, while ensuring sustainability for future generations.
"National Grid is committed to delivering an economic, reliable and renewable energy future and the Newtown Creek Renewable Gas Project is designed to demonstrate that," said Ken Daly, President, National Grid New York. "We are doing our part to help develop environmentally friendly energy technologies to minimize the effects of climate change on our communities."
The Newtown Creek Renewable Gas Project increases the in-city capacity for renewable energy – a key goal of Mayor de Blasio's sustainability plans as New York City works to dramatically mitigate its contributions to climate change. Earlier this week, Mayor de Blasio announced that New York City is the largest city in the world to commit to an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
"Collecting and treating the more than one billion gallons of wastewater produced in New York City every day is essential to public health and the protection of the environment, but it also requires a lot of energy," said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Emily Lloyd. "This partnership with National Grid will harness a byproduct of the wastewater treatment process to provide renewable natural gas to local residents while helping to reduce our carbon footprint and clean the air we all breathe."
Biogas, which is mostly methane, is a by-product of the wastewater treatment process. Methane is also the main component of natural gas. DEP currently reuses approximately 40 percent of the biogas produced at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The partnership with National Grid will ensure that 100 percent of the biogas goes to beneficial reuse and provides a source of carbon-free natural gas while eliminating this source of greenhouse gas emissions from the plant.
The expansion of the City's organic waste collection program will help increase the production of biogas. This project has the potential to produce enough energy to heat approximately 5,200 homes, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90,000 metric tons annually – the equivalent of removing nearly 19,000 cars from the road.
National Grid has selected AECOM, a global integrated infrastructure firm with a business mission that includes developing renewable energy solutions as well as protecting and restoring the health of the environment. AECOM and National Grid will work with Ennead Architects, an internationally recognized architectural firm that has been working on the Newtown Creek master plan and its individual building designs since 1991. Construction of the purification system will begin next summer and is expected to be completed by fall 2016.
About National Grid
National Grid (LSE: NG; NYSE:NGG) is an electricity and gas company that connects consumers to energy sources through its networks. The company is at the heart of one of the greatest challenges facing our society - to create new, sustainable energy solutions for the future and develop an energy system that underpins economic prosperity in the 21st century. National Grid holds a vital position at the center of the energy system and it 'joins everything up'.
In the northeast U.S., we connect more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles. In Great Britain, we run the gas and electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country.
National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. It is the largest distributor of natural gas in northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
For more information please visit our website: http://www.nationalgridus.com.
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This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/09/prweb12200651.htm