A plant for converting Munster Landfill gas to electricity is expected to be built with help from $2 million in funding announced Monday by U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky.
The money is part of $17 million Visclosky help to secure to fund science and technology initiatives in Northwest Indiana to help confront a nationwide energy crisis.
The gas cogeneration plant will convert methane from waste and refuse into electricity that could go into the local power grid, Visclosky, D-Ind., said in a prepared release.
The project will allow the town to benefit from the use of methane gas that would otherwise have been wasted, Munster Town Councilwoman Helen Brown said.
The federal investment means the town won't have to use local tax dollars, Brown said. "We truly thank (Visclosky) for his support."
Funding for the projects comes from the 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill and will be available after the legislation is signed into law by the president.
"This funding shows that Northwest Indiana can be home to cutting-edge, high-technology work needed to address some of our nation's most important issues, including confronting the energy crisis and advancing scientific research and technology," said Visclosky, chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.
Included in the legislation is $1.5 million for a Bio-Energy Cooperative ethanol-biomass fuel plant at Fair Oaks in Jasper County.
The plant will process environmentally treated animal waste into ethanol, an alternative to petroleum-based fuel.
In addition, the Jupiter Oxy Fuel Technology Project will receive $4 million for the creation of technology that burns fossil fuels in a cleaner way and separates out pollutants.
About $6 million of the funding will be dedicated to the Northwest Indiana Computational Grid, a joint effort by Purdue University Calumet, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame and the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.
The money will be used to continue developing the high-speed grid to enable cutting-edge scientific research.
A total of $15 million in federal funding for the computational grid has been secured by Visclosky and U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind.
Also included in the legislation
- $1 million for a cyber security program operated by Merrillville-based Cimcor to implement an information security system at the Department of Energy.
- $500,000 to the Purdue Calumet Inland Water Institute to conduct research and offer educational programs in water resources and water quality, efficiency and security.
- $2 million, announced earlier, for expanding the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana.
