If you have an environmentally focused friend – or if you are the environmentally focused friend – you’ll know that compost is a great power alternative that doesn’t cause harmful output like CO2 emissions. Experts around the globe have been touting its energy-efficient abilities for a while now and Toyota has become one of the first major automakers to stand up and listen.
The automaker’s Georgetown manufacturing plant in Kentucky just announced a new collaboration with the Central Kentucky Landfill that will turn the methane gases from that landfill’s compost into useable power by the plant.
“We will generate one megawatt (1 million watts) per hour at the site,” said Toyota’s environmental strategies manager Dave Absher. “That’s enough annual energy generation to produce approximately 10,000 vehicles. The system can eventually be scaled up to 10 megawatts per hour.”
This plan has been in the works since 2010 and finally started to become a reality last fall. In a nutshell, Toyota Georgetown has installed generators at the landfill, as well as an electric transmission line that runs between the two spaces. The landfills methane collection systems will catch the gas that the compost produces then send it through the generators and along the transmission line where it will be sent direct the plant.
We are very proud to see Toyota continue to take such an active role in finding environmentally friendly ways to build its cars. Take a look at the rest of our blog to discover Toyotas many environmentally focused practices.
