City officials in Fort Wayne announced the municipality is turning to grease for energy sustainability.
Sustaining Fort Wayne, Mayor Henry’s sustainability endeavor focused on mitigating climate change, protecting public health and supporting job creation and economic development, said its partnering with vendors at Union Street Markets at Electric Works to collect excess food grease and convert it to energy.
Henry said this partnership has already started with other restaurants in Fort Wayne.
“We bring that into our plant where we convert all of that to methane gas and turn methane gas into electricity to power some of the city-owned businesses,” Henry said.
Henry said the endeavor has already saved the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in what would have been standard electrical bills.
Food grease is a high-calorie product. Calories store energy. Officials said the energy conversion process focuses on the energy potential of those calories.
Jodi Leamon, the program director for the Utilities Department’s Engineering, Sustainability and Energy Group, said expanding to Union Street Market vendors was a “no-brainer” due to their location, visibility and excess food grease production that can often back up sewage systems.
She said getting them on board took little effort.
“They ticked all the boxes, and when we reached out, they were just really excited to join,” Leamon said.
Leamon said other restaurants should want to get on board because those that do have their grease traps and grease interceptors cleaned for them by a city contractor that collects the grease to be converted into energy.