City is first to turn biogas into compressed natural gas at wastewater plant.
By Samantha Weigel, The Daily Journal.
Most might not consider that flushing a toilet or running a dishwasher could contribute to fueling a vehicle. But such is the future for thousands of local residents, as San Mateo will break ground on California’s first city-run biogas conversion project to produce compressed natural gas at its wastewater treatment plant.
Officials will break ground Friday, Dec. 11, on a nearly $5 million improvement that will contribute to the city’s sustainability goals by reducing its dependency on gasoline thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
After receiving a $2.45 million grant from the state, the city plans to construct a digester that will capture underutilized biogas, which naturally occurs while treating wastewater, and turn it into compressed natural gas that will be used to fuel new city-owned vehicles.