Amsterdam trams, metros to be powered by garbage

AMSTERDAM - Trams and metros in Amsterdam will run on electricity generated by burning the citys garbage from the beginning of January, the city said on Wednesday. The 236 trams and 106 metro trains in the Dutch capital use about 120 million kilowatt hours of power annually, according to Ruud de Kort, a spokesman with the citys transportation department. Under a three-year contract with utility Nuon, electricity from waste incineration will also supply the 50 million kilowatt hours used annually by Amsterdams Muziektheatre, city hall and the streetlamps in the square where the two buildings reside. The bulk deal allowed the city to negotiate a lower price than is typically charged to green energy consumers, de Kort said. About 800 million kilos of non-recyclable garbage from Amsterdam and the surrounding areas is burned in power-producing incinerators, providing about 500 million kilowatt hours of energy, said Erlyn Mulder, a spokewoman for Nuon. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE