[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 17907-17908] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]RECOGNIZING MARIAN MEDICAL CENTER'S CO-GENERATION ENERGY PLANT ______ HON. LOIS CAPPS of california in the house of representatives Thursday, July 31, 2008 Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Marian Medical Center, located [[Page 17908]] in Santa Maria, California, and in my congressional district, for the recent completion of a new Co-Generation Energy Plant. This truly is a win-win project that will benefit our community and the environment. With skyrocketing energy costs, it's very important now that we develop alternative methods of generating electricity. The Marian Medical Center Co-Generation Energy Plant system works by capturing toxic methane gas run-off from the Santa Maria Municipal Landfill and piping it to an energy plant recently built on the hospital campus where it is converted to clean electrical energy. Piping gas from the landfill to power the hospital will significantly reduce methane emissions and offset the use of non-renewable resources, such as natural gas and oil. The energy plant will also result in significant energy and cost savings for the hospital. It will supply all but 50 kilowatts of the energy necessary to power the medical center and is expected to achieve an annual electrical cost savings of nearly $350,000. Finally, the cogeneration project will provide benefits to the City of Santa Maria, which will be able to make use of and receive revenue for an otherwise unused, potentially toxic resource. I am so proud that Marian Medical Center is one of only a handful of healthcare facilities in the nation to be powered by co-generated energy. This project is the result of a unique partnership and I want to commend Marian Medical Center and the City of Santa Maria for serving as a role model for other organizations in our community. ____________________