Quakertown's wastewater treatment plant off Erie Road is getting a major upgrade in the form of renewable biogas electricity generation. Currently, the existing plant uses what is called "aerobic digestion" – meaning air is used to break down wastewater. The plant is in the process of switching to "anaerobic digestion," which removes air from the equation and results in the production of methane. This methane will be used to produce electricity.

            Quakertown Accounting Manager Stephen Plyler explained to the Town and Country that the plant will produce 1.6 megawatts (MW) of electricity, which is enough to completely power the entire treatment plant with some left over to be distributed to homes. This will let the borough save money on power for the plant itself and help to reduce residential rate hikes in the future through the redistributed electricity.

            Improved power reliability for residents will be another byproduct of this, as the strain on the grid inflicted by the plant itself will be erased.

            In addition to electricity production, the revamped plant will also be approved to distribute the leftover organic solids (created by the anaerobic digestion process) as fertilizer for local farms, as opposed to simply being taken to a landfill.

            The plant's upgrades will also allow it to process food waste and transform said waste into fertilizer, creating electricity in the process.

            According to Plyler, this is a service that is in high demand due to the difficulty of disposing of large quantities of food waste. By charging a fee for this service, Quakertown expects to collect $4 million in additional annual revenue.

            At the June 3 borough council meeting, Vice President L. James Roberts touched on this topic and made the council aware of another opportunity for Quakertown to make money off this already promising project: a federal incentive offered to municipalities in exchange for undertaking green energy projects.

            This incentive is not a grant – it is a direct payment of cash to eligible municipalities authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act. Quakertown is likely eligible for somewhere between $4 and $10 million dollars in cash through this program.

            To earnestly pursue this opportunity, borough council decided to work with accounting firm Baker Tilly. Roberts proposed the resolution to do this, which was approved unanimously by the council. Quakertown's agreement with Baker Tilly has a cost maximum of $434,520, but Roberts explained that the actual cost will likely fall somewhere between $250,000 and $300,000.

            Quakertown is willing to make that investment in exchange for the millions of dollars available.