BISHOPVILLE, S.C. - Santee Cooper has opened its second power plant generated by decaying trash.

The state-owned utility dedicated the green-power generating station Tuesday in Lee County.

In a partnership with Allied Waste, which operates the Lee County Landfill, Santee Cooper will use methane gas produced under the mountains of garbage at the landfill to produce electricity.

The new power station uses pipes that run below the landfill to capture the methane, which is produced as trash decomposes. In the past, that gas has been burned at the end of pipes sticking out of the landfill, the utility said.

A similar plant in Horry County opened in 2001. Two more green-power stations are scheduled to start production later this year in Richland and Anderson counties and Santee Cooper hopes to have 10 stations running across South Carolina in a few years, said Elizabeth Kress, an engineer with the utility.

Santee Cooper's customers, including those of 15 South Carolina electric cooperatives, have the option to purchase green power, which costs $3 per month per block more than conventionally produced power.

The Lee County station uses three 1.8 megawatt engines that burn the methane. The Horry County generation station produces 3.3 megawatts, according to the company.