Greenhouse Gas  Columbia University Editorial

Waste-to-energy (WTE) is the only renewable energy technology that provides communities with dual environmental benefits: a clean source of electricity and clean trash disposal.  Since 1991, WTE Facility has been an important component in an integrated solid waste management system that serves the city of Detroit and efficiently disposes of 850,000 tons of municipal solid waste per year.   This WTE Facility generates as much as 68 megawatts of renewable energy which is sold to Detroit Edison.  Maybe even more important is the fact that this facility has the capacity to export up to 550,000 pounds per hour of steam into the city’s downtown steam loop for heating and cooling purposes.


The Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Facility is a refuse derived fuel (RDF) plant that began commercial operation in October 1991. It operates the facility for the City of Detroit under contract with the Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority (GDRRA). The facility is permitted to receive up to 4,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day. The MSW is processed into RDF, which is then burned in the furnaces, producing 720,000 pounds of steam per hour. The steam is used to generate up to 68 megawatts of electricity and supply export steam at a rate of up to 550,000 pounds per hour. The energy products are sold to Detroit Edison Corporation.

Technical Data

Facility Address:	Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority 5700 Russell Street Detroit, MI 48211 (313) 876-0449
Site:	Approximately 17.8 acres at the intersection of I-75 and I-94
Commercial Operation:	October 1991 (Covanta acquired the facility in 1993 from Combustion Engineering/ABB)
Energy-from-Waste System:	Three 1,097 ton-per-day (RDF) waterwall furnaces with CE traveling grates; three RDF processing lines each rated at nominal 100 tons per hour
Boiler Design:	900 sig/825°F superheater outlet conditions
Air Pollution Control Equipment:	Semi-dry flue gas scrubbers injecting lime slurry, fabric filter baghouses, and continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) system
Rated Refuse Capacity:	3,300 tons per day
Energy Generation at Rated Capacity:	up to 68 megawatts of electrical power from one condensing steam turbine generator with controlled extraction and/or up to 550,000 lbs. of steam/hr by contract
Sold to:	Detroit Edison Corporation