Biogas project up and running at wastewater plant

Driving along Platte River Road at night, it was hard to miss the eerie flame rising from South Platte Water Renewal Partners, the wastewater treatment plant just north of Dartmouth Avenue. The flame, which burned off waste gases produced by sewage treatment processes, was extinguished on Oct. 31, as the mayors of Englewood and Littleton cut the ribbon on the plant’s biogas capture system. From now on, the waste gases produced by the plant — containing atmospheric pollutants like carbon dioxide and sulfides — will be cleaned, and the methane injected into an Xcel Energy pipeline, where it will be used to heat homes and produce power. The system is the first of its kind in Colorado.