Traditionally, Americans have relied on fossil fuels—including oil, coal, and natural gas—to provide electricity, heat our homes, and fuel our cars. However, once they're used up, fossil fuels cannot be replaced. In addition, the emissions they produce can be harmful to the environment.
For these reasons, scientists and engineers are hard at work developing new energy resource alternatives that are both renewable and more environmentally responsible. Biogas (or "biofuel") is one such example.
At many plants treating wastewater, methane—an important biogas—is produced and can be captured in containers called "anaerobic digesters." Modern wastewater plants can then recover the biogas and use it as a renewable source of electricity to power the plant. This, in turn, can result in valuable savings for customers.
