PROJECT PROFILE

BMW Manufacturing Co.

11 MW Landfill Gas CHP System

Site Description or Project Overview

Quick Facts
LOCATION: Spartanburg, South Carolina
The BMW manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, SC uses landfill
MARKET SECTOR: Auto Manufacturing
gas, a local opportunity fuel, from Waste Management’s
Palmetto Landfill. The gas travels through a 9.5 mile pipeline to FUEL: Landfill Gas
the plant. MAX CAPACITY: 11 MW
IN OPERATION SINCE: 2003
At the BMW site, two gas-fired combustion turbines use this gas EQUIPMENT: 2 gas-fired combustion turbines
to produce 11,000 kW of electricity, while heat is recovered
ESTIMATED YEARLY SAVINGS: $5-7 million
from the engines and used in the facility as process steam. This
JOINT PROJECT BY: BMW, Waste Management,
system produces 30% of the plant’s electrical need and 60% of
Durr Systems, Ameresco
the plant’s thermal needs.
ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS: reduced carbon
dioxide emissions by 92,000 tons per year
Reasons for Installing Recovered Energy

In early 2003, four turbines located at BMW Manufacturing Co.’s Energy Center came alive with the combustion of methane
gas piped in from the nearby Palmetto Landfill. At that moment, the facility’s environmental leadership, again, broke new
ground. Inside the Energy Center, the methane gas is used to turn the turbines which supply about 50% of the total energy
demands for the BMW campus.

Shortly after the implementation of the landfill gas program, engineers realized that the landfill was generating more
landfill gas than the plant was using. In 2006, working with Durr Systems, BMW expanded the landfill gas program to
power the Paint Shop, an area of the plant that uses half of the plant’s total energy. In 2009, BMW replaced the original
four turbines with two new highly efficient turbines.
 Equipment and Configuration

Equipment

o Two 5,500 kW Gas Turbines

o Heat Recovery Steam Generators
o Two 1,200 kW backup gas turbines

Gas Treatment

To prevent damage to the combustion turbines, BMW invested in new gas treatment equipment to remove siloxanes from
the landfill gas. The gas is collected at the landfill site, cleaned and compressed before sending it to the BMW facility.

Project Barriers

A natural gas CHP system was installed in 1992, but the system sat idle because cost of the gas was more expensive than
purchasing electricity from the local utility. In 2000, BMW researched the possibility of using landfill gas (LFG) from the
neighboring Palmetto landfill to run their equipment.

After a 20 year purchase agreement was made for 4000 CFM of Palmetto’s LFG, the 9.5 mile pipeline was constructed. The
pipeline was routed under highways, a river and a railroad. Gas treatment equipment had to be installed on site and
turbines had to be modified to run on LFG.

Additional Facts

o 60% of the plants energy requirements are provided by landfill gas

o The site has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 92,000 tons per year.
o This was the world's first automotive paint shop to integrate use of LFG in process equipment.
o The site has won multiple awards including:
o 2003 South Carolina Governor’s Pollution Prevention Award
o EPA’s Green Power Award
o EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program Project of the Year Award 2003

For More Information

U.S. DOE SOUTHEAST COMBINED HEAT AND POWER US EPA LANDFILL METHANE OUTREACH PROGRAM
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PARTNERSHIP
Victoria Ludwig
Isaac Panzarella, Director 202-343-9291
919-515-0354 Ludwig.victoria@epa.gov
ipanzarealla@ncsu.edu

More Case Studies: http://www.southeastchptap.org  Date produced: 10/2009

https://www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/distributedenergy/chptaps.html Last updated: 10/2013