Appleton Wastewater Treatment Plant – ORC Generator

The City of Appleton, Wisconsin, has a goal to transition to 100% renewable energy by the year 2040. The Organic Rankin Cycle (ORC) generator project is a unique project utilizing creative engineering to allow the facility to generate electricity from biogas generated at the wastewater treatment plant. The ORC generators produce electricity with hot water produced in their biogas boilers with excess biogas. The ORC generators allow use of biogas in summer when heating demand is low, but electrical demand is at a peak. Rohde worked with the city and the engineer to successfully install this unique system with a tight timeline and limited available space. Careful planning, attention to detail, and a commitment to prefabrication allowed the project to be completed with minimal impact on plant operations. The installation is a showcase for an emerging technology producing 500,000 kWh of renewable electricity annually. The result is lower operating costs that help keep the sewer rates low for the community.