Sept. 26, 2008 - A team of MBA students at the University of Michigan have created a green business model that could help UPS save more than $7 million in less than six years by using landfill gas as a sustainable energy source.

Winners of the annual Spotlight! Competition, a 14-week internship loosely designed as a real-time consulting assignment, have presented UPS with a plan to install a 10-megawatt combustion turbine to generate electricity from landfill gas.

After performing an in-depth analysis of UPS's energy consumption profile - including local energy and renewable energy markets, billing structures for various energy types, and the costs and benefits associated with landfill gas - the students created a model which predicts a 5.86-year payback period and a 20-year net present value of more than $7.26 million.

"Our plan identifies the end uses of landfill gas that will provide the highest economic, social, and environmental value," according to competition winner Team UPS.

Each of the three members of Team UPS will receive $5,000 in scholarships.

To read more about the winning project, click here (PDF).