Renewable energy is providing frontline communities with a new paradigm that brings local benefits over and above simply producing power. A new project focused on converting food waste launched by the Chicago-based nonprofit organization Green Era, for example, demonstrates how biogas production can perform multiple tasks, working as a sustainable food waste solution for local businesses while supporting urban farmers and gardeners as well.

Biogas Production at the Green Era Campus in Chicago

Green Era’s signature project is the Green Era Campus, a nine-acre remediated brownfields site located in the Greater Auburn Gresham community on Chicago’s South Side. The power generation part of the site consists of a 35,000-square-foot facility opened last week, where an anaerobic digester has begun using natural microbial action to break down locally-sourced food waste.

Anaerobic digestion is a faster form of organic breakdown. It takes place in enclosed containers, where microbes digest organic material in the absence of oxygen. During the process, the microbes expel biogas which is captured and processed into renewable natural gas, or RNG.

Anaerobic systems have already become commonplace on farms. Farmers can sell their RNG to an existing gas grid or bottler, or it use it themselves on-site. In addition to providing energy for buildings, biomethane from anaerobic digesters can be used as lower-carbon alternative fuel for tractors and other agricultural machinery. As both a food waste and a decarbonization solution, anaerobic systems also prevent the direct methane emissions that can come from decomposing organic waste in traditional compost piles.

Although some have raised concerns over leakage or mismanagement, the evidence indicates that emissions risks can be addressed with appropriate control systems. In addition, a recent environmental justice analysis of dairy farms in California suggests that anaerobic digesters can be adopted for widespread use without a significant impact on local air quality and public health.

From Anaerobic Digestion to Urban Agriculture: The Process of Converting Food Waste

The digester at Green Era Campus will produce biogas from thousands of tons of food waste annually, drawing from a large supply of local feedstock. According to an estimate cited by Green Era, Chicago generates 451,000 tons of food waste per year.

Read the full article about converting food waste into renewable energy by Tina Casey at Triple Pundit.