The SNRC will use Anaergia’s advanced anaerobic digestion technology to convert up to 130,000 gallons per day of food waste, along with its sewage biosolids, into biogas. The biogas will then be used to generate three megawatts of renewable electricity, enough to meet all of the facility’s energy needs and still add renewable power to the electric grid. In addition, the plant will use state-of-the-art membrane technology made by Anaergia’s affiliated company Fibracast to recycle up to 8 million gallons of wastewater per day. Residues left over after energy is produced will be converted to valuable biochar, a natural fertilizer that will be sold and used to enrich farmland soil.
“Thanks to the leadership of East Valley Water District, the SNRC will make two paradigm shifts on how humanity builds wastewater facilities in the future,” said Andrew Benedek, Chairman and CEO of Anaergia. “The first paradigm shift is to make every wastewater plant maximize its resource recovery, reducing impacts to the environment. The second paradigm shift is to make such plants a social benefit and not a smelly eyesore. In years to come, I predict that this will serve as a catalyst for positive change and the community will greatly benefit from its park-like setting, its community center, and the vocational training programs associated with the SNRC.”
“East Valley Water District’s vision for the SNRC was to make every source a resource — Anaergia helped provide a solution for a resource recovery center,” said John Mura, General Manager/CEO of East Valley Water District, which built and will operate the plant. “The team brought everything together to create value from the wastewater — design, engineering, patented technologies — as well a shared passion to create a facility that will benefit the community for years to come.”
