NOVATO, CA – Officials celebrated the opening today of a landfill gas-to-energy plant in Novato that will provide renewable electricity to customers in four Bay Area counties.

The $14.5 million state-of-the-art renewable energy power plant at the Redwood Landfill at 8950 Redwood Highway uses methane gas produced by Marin County's trash at the landfill to power two reciprocating engines that generate 3.9 megawatts of electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The plant will provide enough renewable energy to serve more than 5,000 customers with MCE, the public electricity provider for Napa and Marin counties, as well as Benicia in Solano County, and El Cerrito, Lafayette, Richmond, San Pablo and Walnut Creek in Contra Costa County.