Ottawa, Ontario city counselors have collectively given the go ahead to build a facility of a “waste-to-energy” that will convert 400 metric tons of trash daily into 21 megawatts of net electricity.

The plant, (submitted by PlascoEnergy Group), will use gasification, (plasma gasification is a process that decomposes waste under high heat and low oxygen into a gas mixture called syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide), which can be burned in turbines and engines to create electricity.

The facility will be North America’s first, but similar plants in Europe and Asia have been used as examples. Last month, Hawaii approved $100 million in bonds to finance a “waste-to-energy” plant using plasma-torch technology from Westinghouse Plasma, based in Madison, PA. Meanwhile a Boston competitor, Ze-gen, reported the successful ramp-up of a 10-metric-ton-per-day pilot plant in New Bedford, MA.,that uses molten iron to break down waste.

The high price tag of building and operating costs have held back this technological development in North America, but construction on the $27-million demonstration plant could be operating in as soon as three years. At full capacity, the plant should be capable of turning 400 metric tons of garbage per day into 21 megawatts of net electricity, enough to power about 19,000 homes.

The City of Ottawa sends 800,000 tons of waste to landfills every year. That’s a whole lot of garbage that will eventually be able to light up a whole lot of homes!