Tuesday, July 28, 2009
A methane-gas generator would help save money in the long run, Struthers officials say.
STRUTHERS — The city is weighing whether it will be able to save money by using methane gas to generate electricity at its sewage-treatment plant.
Mayor Terry Stocker said city officials will meet with Mahoning County commissioners Thursday to determine if the county wants to pursue $2.2 million in state loans with the city to design and build a system that traps methane gas after sewage is treated and pressed to take to a landfill. The gas could then power a generator.
The total cost of the project is $4 million. The other $1.8 million would come from federal stimulus money, Stocker said.
The city is consulting the county, said Stocker and city Auditor Tina Morell, because the Struthers plant treats sewage from other communities in the county. The county reimburses the city for 64.5 percent of its costs, they said.
Stocker said the project would save the city money in utility costs.
The question, he and Morell said, is whether the savings is going to be enough to offset the 3.4 percent interest on the loan over 20 years.
The city had initially thought the loan was going to be interest-free, Stocker said.
Morell said a savings is hard to project, because it’s hard to know where utility costs will be “10 years from now.”
“The potential for savings is there, but are you going to want to pay the money up front?” she said.
She said the plant’s utility costs are $350,000 a year. The methane generator could save 60 percent to 70 percent.
“I think it’s a good project,” Stocker said. “We can use stimulus money.”
Morell said the deadline is next month for the loan application. If the city goes ahead with the project, it would likely start early in 2010, she said.