The City of San Jose, capital of the Silicon Valley, has announced plans to move ahead in building the first organics-to-energy biogas facility in America. Now this technology, which has already been proven successful in Europe, has made its way to San Jose.

This project brings San Jose much closer to becoming 100% energy independent. The biogas facility, Zanker Road Biogas, would be built on a 40-acre site, would convert up to 150,000 tons of organic waste per year to process and would produce energy that would otherwise have been destined for a landfill.

San Jose’s Zanker BioGas would employ approximately 30-40 workers during development and is expected to create and retain 50-60 direct and supporting jobs when fully operational. With this news, San Jose furthers its Green Vision program goals, chief among them, to divert 100% of their waste away from landfills and convert to waste energy, and create 25,000 clean tech jobs.

This facility when built will not only aid in creating jobs and moving forward toward renewable energy, but will also aid in stimulating the economy through innovation and technology.