Projects Converting Waste to Electricity Will Lead to Cleaner Air

The California Energy Commission recently approved grants for nine projects that will generate clean energy, reduce carbon emissions that lead to pollution and help us meet our goal of deriving half of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Nearly $21 million in grants will develop technology to convert organic, municipal and landfill waste into electricity in nine municipalities.



Several projects convert organic waste into biogas through digesters, which process waste similar to the way a cow’s stomach digests food. Biogas can be used as a clean energy option for the state’s electricity grid. Digesters are planned in Redwood City, San Bernardino County, Riverside, and in Irvine. Furthermore, Biogas & Electric in Palm Springs received a grant to develop an innovative biogas-fired engine at a waste water treatment center that will decrease air pollution from exhaust streams.

Also approved were funds for SoCal Gas to convert dairy manure in Brawley into low-carbon renewable gas using only solar power and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the Bay Area for their work on clean energy technology. The Laboratory’s projects include a smart charging control system for electric vehicles in Alameda County, a San Jose installation of a photovoltaic storage system for net-zero energy capabilities, and research to convert waste in San Jose into electricity through anaerobic digestion.