Harvest Power unveiled the Central Florida Energy Garden, an anaerobic digester converting organic waste into biogas and natural fertilizers. Walt Disney World Resort – located within the Reedy Creek Improvement District – is the facility’s first customer.
When operating at full capacity, the facility will process more than 120,000 tons of organic materials annually while producing 5.4 MW of combined heat and power. Restaurants, hotels and food processors throughout the region are now able to send food scraps to the Energy Garden.
Currently, compostable organic material makes up the largest and heaviest portion of the overall waste stream in the US, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In Central Florida, about 1,000 tons of food waste enters a landfill every day.