The University of Iowa Presents:

Doug joined Interstate Power and Light (IPL) -Alliant Energy in March of 1998 and is currently a project engineer in the account management section of IPL. In addition to helping IPL’s large commercial and industrial customers find energy efficiency improvement opportunities, Doug is also the “go-to” person when it comes to bioenergy/biorenewable energy systems. Doug helps educate customers on such topic as biomass to energy systems, anaerobic digesters, landfill gas energy systems, and will also help the customers implement these systems.

Doug is also a key member of a team that has a focus on helping ethanol and biodiesel plants, located in and near the IPL service territory reduce their operating costs by helping them find and implement projects to reduce their overall energy costs.

Prior to joining IPL-Alliant Energy, Doug was the Facilities Engineering Director for Iowa Methodist Medical Center and Iowa Lutheran Hospital, both located in Des Moines, IA. Doug is a mechanical engineering graduate of Iowa State University and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Iowa. Doug is also a Certified Energy Manager.

Topic Summary - "Waste Digestor And Landfill Gas"

Anaerobic digesters have been around for a long time as a waste treatment process. These systems are now receiving more attention as a source of biorenewable energy. Doug will provide a brief introduction to anaerobic digesters including what they are, how they work, anaerobic digester “ingredients”, and will provide an overview of the basic types of digester.

Another source of bioenergy is the local sanitary landfill. Doug will also touch upon how facilities can collect and capture the energy (methane) that may be present in a sanitary landfill system to offset natural usage and/or use the methane to generate electrical energy onsite.