UGI has announced that one of its subsidiaries will soon be generating nearly 11 megawatts of electricity using recovered landfill methane gas.

The Broad Mountain project is located at a Hegins, PA landfill owned and operated by Commonwealth Environmental Systems, L.P. UGI Energy Services, Inc., with headquarters in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, is the non-regulated subsidiary of UGI that will own and operate the plant.

When completed, the $36 million project will be one of the largest of its kind in the United States.

Lon R. Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of UGI, said, "It gives me great pleasure to announce our second landfill gas project in less than a year. We take our responsibilities as an energy provider seriously and we will continue to seek out clean and sustainable energy projects in the future that have attractive returns for our shareholders."

Bradley C. Hall, president of UGI Energy Services, added, "From our base in Pennsylvania, UGI Energy Services is uniquely positioned to recognize and evaluate opportunities like the Broad Mountain project. We are a premier distributor and marketer of energy products and services with a diversified portfolio of assets to serve customers throughout the mid-Atlantic region."

Landfill gas is generated during the natural decomposition of solid waste and the byproduct gas is largely comprised of methane, a primary greenhouse gas.

Landfill gas was given the highest preference, along with other energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass and low-impact hydro, as an alternative energy by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania when the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard was enacted into law almost 4 years ago. The legislation requires that within 15 years, 18 percent of the state's electric power come from alternative energy sources.

In addition to installation of electric power generators, the project involves installation of gas processing equipment and reinforcement of power lines that interconnect the project to the PJM system which transmits the electricity throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

There are many environmental benefits associated with this renewable energy project. In addition to providing electric generating capacity to serve the equivalent of 7,000 homes, the project will result in the equivalent of removing over 86,000 vehicles from our roads. The project is expected to reduce total annual greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) emissions by over 60,000 tons per year.

UGI Energy Services has completed the design phase of the project and has ordered electric generators that are specifically designed for landfill gas operation. In addition, special equipment will be needed to compress, filter, and dry the landfill gas prior to fueling the generators. The project should be completed and electric power production initiated by the end of December 2008.

UGI Energy Services, the energy marketing unit of UGI, markets natural gas, electricity, and fuel oil to over 11,000 commercial and industrial customers throughout the mid-Atlantic region, owns and operates natural gas storage and peaking plants for utility clients, and owns 144 megawatts of electric generation capacity.