Gwinnett begins generating electricity at water plant

Gwinnett County’s water resources department has begun generating its own electricity using methane gas, a byproduct of sewage treatment.

A new facility at the county’s water resources plant near Buford can produce up to 40 percent of the plant’s energy needs. Previously, the gas was burned off as waste.

Next fall Gwinnett will finish a facility to process fats, oils, grease and other industrial waste. The department used $5 million in federal stimulus money, a $3.5 million federal grant and $500,000 of local funds to build the new facilities.