Wood Road Generating Station
Lansing, MI
Energy production from Wood Road Generating Station is enough to power approximately 4,800 homes.
Wood Road Generating Station produces electricity from landfill gas 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Granger and electric customer, Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL), work together to bring renewable energy to mid-Michigan communities.
Environmental and Energy Benefits
Wood Road Generating Station
- Current electric capacity of 8 megawatts (MW)
- Annual electrical energy production equivalent to power consumed by 4,789 homes
- The carbon emissions offset is equal to 44,258,278 gallons of gasoline consumed
Grand River Generating Station
- Current electric capacity of 3.2 megawatts (MW)
- Annual electrical energy production equivalent to power consumed by 1,915 homes
- The carbon emissions offset is equal to 17,703,311 gallons of gasoline consumed
Calculations are computed by the LFG Energy Benefits Calculator, provided by the EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program. Figures express reductions of methane and CO2 in equivalent environmental and energy benefits. Last update: February 29, 2016
Granger is the developer and built and operates the electric generating station, in addition to owning and operating Wood Street Landfill. BWL is a municipally owned utility, providing drinking water, electricity, steam and related services to the Greater Lansing area. BWL purchases electricity produced at the generating station and distributes it to its customers.
Wood Street Landfill opened in 1984 and as of 2014 had 5,500,000 tons of waste in place. The 335-acre facility is expected to be in operation for approximately 35 more years; energy production is projected to continue for an additional 20 to 30 years after it is closed.
In 1985, Granger became the first company in Michigan to make practical use of landfill gas for renewable energy by sending gas processed on-site at Wood Street Landfill to Motor Wheel, a local industrial facility, via a 1.5 mile pipeline. Motor Wheel continued to receive this gas until 1996 when the facility closed.
When multiple on-site generator sets were installed in 1992, the project made the transition to an electrical generating station. These powerful pieces of equipment consist of 1,100 or 2,200 horsepower engines similar to the engine of a car, only much larger. The engine drives the attached generator, which produces electricity. Wood Road uses seven engine generator sets with the capacity to produce a total of 8 megawatts of electricity.
A small amount of the energy produced at Wood Road Generating Station is used directly to supply the generation facility itself, with the majority of electricity being delivered to the utility’s grid to supply local homes and businesses.