Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando is now purchasing energy from Harvest Power’s Central Florida Energy Garden-an organics management and renewable energy facility. By converting organic waste into a mixture of gases called biogas as well as natural fertilizers, the anaerobic digester will divert hundreds of thousands of tons of waste from Central Florida landfills.
Located within the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), the Energy Garden uses anaerobic digestion-a biological process that relies on naturally occurring bacteria-to produce the biogas, a renewable source of energy. When operating at full capacity, the facility will process more than 120,000 tons of organic materials annually while producing 5.4 megawatts of combined heat and power.
Harvest Power’s Energy Garden helps businesses and communities across Central Florida reduce and reuse organic material, increase renewable energy production, and revitalize soil to boost local agriculture. Restaurants, hotels, and food processors throughout the region are now able to send food waste to the Energy Garden.
Currently, compostable organic material makes up the largest and heaviest portion of the overall waste stream in the U.S., according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The majority of organic material is discarded with waste and hauled to distant landfills. In Central Florida, about 24 pounds of food waste enters a landfill every second-or more than 1,000 tons per day.
“As North American demand for recycling of organic waste grows, this anaerobic digestion facility is a revelation for what is possible,” says Alex MacFarlane, Harvest Power’s vice president of project development. “Designed to the highest standards, we hope it will serve as an inspiration for more communities to divert organics from the landfill.”
