ORLANDO, Fla. – It's true what they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
With new technology, the Orlando Utilities Commission will revisit a section of the Orange County landfill thought to no longer produce methane gas and extrapolate enough energy from the gasses to power 2,400 homes in the Orange County area beginning in April.
Combined with existing projects, the expansion allows the OUC to generate energy for 7,600 homes in Orange County and over 16,000 homes in the OUC's service area including in Osceola, Charlotte and Broward Counties.
Methane gas is naturally produced as trash begins to decompose. The gas is then siphoned using a network of pipes that run through the landfill and lead to the Stanton Energy Center five miles away.