The City of Burlingame in partnership with Veolia Water North America – West LLC (Veolia Water) and California Power Partners (Calpwr), celebrated the unveiling of Burlingame’s co-generation power system yesterday. The system is the City’s latest tool to combat global climate change.

The Burlingame City Council has a mission to aggressively do our part to combat global climate change by developing several renewable energy programs, said Burlingame City Manager, Jim Nantell. The City worked with Veolia Water and Calpwr in developing this second generation of cogen projects, which is a testament to its commitment to the environment and the community.

The system efficiently generates electricity on site by using the methane gas that is produced naturally by the wastewater treatment process, thereby reducing demand from the local power grid.

This fully operational co-generation power system will provide 20 percent of the plant’s daily electricity use, or enough energy to power about 160 residential homes a year. This program is expected to save the City $8,000 - $12,000 a month in energy bills by reducing the quantity power purchased from the local utility company. This program was eligible for a rebate from PG & E in the amount of $160,000. The co-generation system is a great example of how the public and private community can work together to protect the environment.

Please contact Syed Murtuza, City’s Assistant Public Works Director at (650)558-7230 if you have any questions regarding the cogeneration plant project.