On Friday, March 15, 2002 the Northern Tier Solid Waste Authority held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new power generation system in Burlington, PA.

The Bradford County, PA-based landfill is home to a new 800-kilowatt methane-to-electricity system that is powered by a Cat 3516 engine acquired through Cleveland Brothers’ branch in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The project was a joint effort between Cleveland Brothers, the Northern Tier Solid Waste Authority (NTSWA) and PPL Corporation.

The ceremony was attended by approximately 30 representatives from local and county governments, and from each of the companies involved with the project. A tour of the facility that houses the new generator also was included as part of the ceremony.

Dave Terrell, executive director for NTSWA, commented that PPL and Cleveland Brothers, “provided the expertise to get this project started.” Robb Homolka, the Northeast Region electric power marketing manager of Caterpillar Inc., also commented on the project as a part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

There were a variety of Cleveland Brothers representatives available to answer questions and to explain the details of how the system will work. During the course of the project, Cleveland Brothers has had employees working on the site since mid-January of 2002. Matt Seward and Jim Yarnell, were the Cleveland Brothers service technicians who made sure the project was running smoothly. Kurt Hertzler, generator project engineer, and Tom Judge, power systems technical communicator, also were involved in the project and were in attendance at the ceremony.

The landfill typically produces approximately 600,000 cu. ft. (16,990 cu m) of methane gas per day at the 128-acre (52 ha) facility, some of which will be used to power the new Caterpillar generator. The landfill will then be able to sell electricity on the open market and use the heat that is generated to help decompose organic waste.

The new power generation system is a more environmentally-friendly way of dealing with the excess landfill gas that is produced when organic waste decays. When the odorless greenhouse gas is used as an energy source, it helps to reduce air pollution. In the past, the landfill would have burned the excess methane to prevent build-ups of the gas.

Cleveland Brothers is central Pennsylvania’s full-service distributor of Caterpillar equipment and engines. Cleveland Brothers’ Power Systems Division also is a distributor for Sullair air compressors, and switch gear equipment from Asco, Zenith, Russell, and ISO. Fourteen facilities are conveniently located throughout central Pennsylvania.

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