Local plant turns trash into energy

WATERVLEIT, Mich. -- In Watervliet, a landfill cut the opening day ribbon for a generation station that is taking your everyday trash and making something useful out of it. 

"After all, all of our trash and all of our refuge needs to go someplace,” says Senator John Proos.

And Orchard Hill Generation Station wants it.

The methane gas it produces can help power your home.

“By extracting that gas and bringing it into a facility, we can take landfill gas which contains methane, use it as a fuel to create electricity and sell that electricity out to the grid,” says Joel Zylstra, Chief Operations Officer Granger.

Thursday afternoon Zylstra cut the ribbon on a new facility, to do exactly that.

Two generators and some methane - can provide energy to 2,000 homes.

“It makes sense for us to use what is already there, instead of allowing that methane to just flare off and be smelly in our community, lets use it for what it is necessary for,” said Proos.

“Lets put it to use," says Congressman Fred Upton. "And you have got a stable supply here now, really for the next hundred years, so this is a good thing. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

The idea is to become less dependent on oil, to create more jobs in Michiana, and to save us all some cash.

“We should be utilizing all of the technologies, to decrease our dependence on foreign oil and other resources that otherwise that cost us all more money,” says Proos.

What makes this new plant so exciting is that is uses waste, to make more of what we need everyday.

Even better, it's green energy.