New methane to electricity plant opens in Pennsylvania

8/3/2011 | Construction Blog, Real Estate Blog

Recently, PPL Renewable Energy completed an innovative power plant construction project in Pennsylvania. The power plant, located in Glendon, is known as the Glendon Green Energy Park, and it uses the methane gas that naturally forms in the Chrin Brothers landfill to produce electricity. Although the idea of using a byproduct of decomposing household waste is a great way of tapping into a new renewable energy source, the construction project needed help to get underway.

Like many large construction projects, the Glendon Green Energy Park faced a series of legal and regulatory obstacles that needed to be overcome before the physical construction could get underway. The major obstacle that needed to be overcome for this project was the fact that Chrin Brothers landfill and the site of power plant were on opposite sides of Interstate 78. In order to make this project a reality, a gas pipeline needed to be built under the Interstate.

After years of delicate negotiations between the government, Chrin Brothers, and PPL, construction was able to begin. Over the course of a year, construction workers dug a tunnel under I-78 for the methane gas pipeline from the landfill to the power plant.

Not every construction project needs to overcome a major obstacle such as building a methane gas tunnel under an interstate highway, but almost every construction project needs to overcome its own unique legal obstacles. Whether an obstacle is a matter of negotiating construction contracts or if it is complying with government land use and environmental regulations, experienced construction law attorneys are available to help answer any real estate and construction law questions that arise.

Source: The Washington Examiner, “Chrin, PPL unveil gas-to-electricity power plant,” Elizabeth Murphy, 28 July 2011