Ontario’s first complete renewable landfill gas industrial co-generation system.
General Motors Canada has completed a $28 million co-generation investment at the St. Catharines Propulsion plant that will enhance the operation’s competitiveness by lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reducing future energy costs.
The co-generation program is expected to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 70%while protecting the engine and transmission plant from rising electricity and carbon costs.
It is the first complete renewable landfill gas industrial co-generation system in Ontario delivering renewable landfill gas from an offsite source.
The 6.4-megawatt co-generation project uses renewable landfill gas delivered by pipeline from the nearby Walker landfill to generate electricity from newly installed engines at the plant. GM will also recover the thermal energy that is usually thought waste to power and heat St. Catharines.
“This co-generation project demonstrates the power of local partnerships to deliver results that improve the bottom line, protect the environment and meet our sustainability targets,” said GM St. Catharines Plant Director Carolyne Watts.
The project was aided through partnerships with Alectra Utilities, Integrated Gas Recovery Services and the Ontario Centres of Excellence.
GM has committed to power all its global operations’ electricity needs with 100%renewable energy by 2040. Greater use of thermal energy helps address heating needs to further reduce emissions.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
