Subject to the completion of due diligence, Bluesphere will purchase up to 100 percent of the seller’s rights, title and interest to seven anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities in Italy. The due diligence period is up to 60 days. The facilities currently being evaluated under the LOI have long-term agreements with local utilities that are purchasing electricity from the AD plants, says Bluesphere.

Based on due diligence conducted to date, collectively the plants are producing very high EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), are expected to have an internal rate of return of greater than 25 percent and, if acquired, would generate strong immediate cash for Bluesphere, according to the company’s CEO.

“This marks a huge milestone for our company,” says Bluesphere CEO Shlomi Palas. “We have swiftly implemented our intended strategy of creating near-term revenues and positive cash flows through acquisition. In addition there are nine more 1 megawatt facilities in Italy with at least one year of operating history that we are currently evaluating for our portfolio.”

Bluesphere announced in June 2014 that it is pursuing a strategy to acquire fully operational, revenue generating waste-to-energy facilities in select global markets. The company is augmenting its current build-own-and-operate model with an acquire-own-and-operate strategy with a goal to create immediate revenue and cash flow generation, which it says will put it on a short-term path to profitability.
 

According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, the plaintiffs have asked a judge in Marion County, Indiana, to halt the agreement between the city and Covanta. The three plaintiffs claim the $110 million contract, which includes the construction of a $45 mixed waste materials processing facility, did not go through the normal bidding process.

Other opponents of the contract say Covanta will focus its efforts on using the material collected from the city for its WTE facility, causing fewer recyclables to reach end markets.

Additionally, opponents say the collection and processing of recyclables mixed with waste will result in lower quality material, ultimately making potentially recyclable material only usable for the WTE plant.

In a statement released after the city voted to approve the Covanta deal, the Indiana Recycling Coalition (IRC) writes that it is “disappointed that the Indianapolis Board of Public Works has approved Covanta’s plan to mix recyclables with trash. As we have stated, this plan is a major step backwards for recycling in Indianapolis. Having in recent days received access to the agreement, we now know it is a bad deal for taxpayers as well.”

According to the IRC statement, the contract will result in the following outcomes:

• The city will be financially penalized when the current subscription curbside recycling program collects 5 percent more recyclables per year than the year prior to the Covanta facility opening. Thus, clean residential recycling is disincentivized by the new contract.
• The recycling goal for Covanta’s facility is 18 percent. This is a 23 percent decrease from the original 23.5 percent goal Covanta had been touting while marketing proposal in recent months. There does not appear to be a penalty for not achieving the “meager” 18 percent goal.
• This contract precludes the private sector from working with the city to improve recycling programs for the next 14 years. If innovative techniques become available, the city will be unable to explore new possibilities and better approaches.

In a statement following the filing of the suit, the Indianapolis Department of Public Works, wrote, “We are perfectly within our legal right to amend our contract with Covanta. The new Advanced Recycling Center will be one of the most modern facilities in the world and is a common sense program to increase recycling in the city—at no cost to taxpayers or government.”
 

Weltec also has commissioned two other plants in 2014. With other construction projects underway, new staff recruited and what the company calls “a healthy order book,” Weltec says 2014 has been an excellent year for business. The original Eco-Dorset AD plant was also built by Weltec and was commissioned in 2012. After two years running, the operator assigned Weltec with the extension, which is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2014.

The plant is fed by local authority food waste as well as expired food products, which prior to digestion are unpackaged, sorted and pasteurized at the site. After the extension, approximately 37,000 metric tons per year of food waste will generate an electrical output of 1.6 MW.

Electricity generated at the plant as well as excess gas is fed to an adjacent feed mill. When the mill is not operational, the power is fed to the national electricity grid. The digestate (residue) produced by the plant is collected and used by local farmers.

Weltec says it is attentive to maintaining its partnerships with clients after the design/build phase. “We recognize that an AD plant is a 20-year partnership and that maintaining solid trust-based working relationships with our clients is crucial to our ongoing success,” says Weltec sales manager Kevin Monson. “Therefore we now have a dedicated U.K.-based service and maintenance capability with locally available spare parts.”

A statement from WM reads in part, “As part of our broader effort to align our corporate functions with the strategic priorities of the company and to better support the needs of the business, we’re doing a bit of restructuring of the teams that support the recycling business, a business that continues to be a very important part of our overall portfolio. Given this, Bill Caesar has decided to leave the company mid-September. As leader of both the company’s recycling business and its portfolio of investments in new technology and services businesses, Bill’s disciplined and focused leadership has paid tremendous dividends and we wish him much success as he moves on to new opportunities.”

Sources indicate that as part of WM’s realignment the company is attempting to cut its staff level by as much as 10 percent, with a high percentage of the cuts occurring at WM’s Houston headquarters.

2G Cenergy says the Yuengling CHP energy conversion cogeneration module was supplied “all-in-one” as a “plug and play” unit that was ready after a quick installation process.

The brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, will use the heat generated by the plant to heat its pasteurization process, which will allow Yuengling to save on energy costs. Less steam is required to heat the brewery’s tunnel pasteurizers, resulting in substantial savings, according to the companies.

The methane gas is generated at the Yuengling brewery wastewater treatment plant and by an anaerobic digester designed by Environmental Management Group International Inc. (EMG), based in Media, Pennsylvania. 2G Cenergy also supplied a gas treatment system to dehumidify the saturated gas and to remove hydrogen sulfide (H2S) contained in the raw biogas. The CHP system has been designed as dual fuel module and can be operated on low BTU biogas or on pipeline quality natural gas, according to 2G Cenergy.

“This is an exciting investment for Yuengling, not only because of the many savings and advantages that the facility will create for the brewery’s economy, but also because this is a significant milestone in our growing presence in the American brewery market segment,” says Ulrich Nielen, sales director at 2G Cenergy.

“It's definitely ahead of the curve on technology and a huge jump forward,” Robert Seaman Jr., Yuengling’s plant manager, told a reporter from the Republican Herald newspaper of Pottsville.

“The U.S. biogas sector is in a very vibrant phase, with a range of anaerobic digester companies coming forward with more advanced and proven technologies, many new projects and aspirational targets,” says Michael Turwitt, president and CEO of 2G Cenergy. “The increased focus on renewable energy and smart biogas solutions to turn waste into valuable energy and the undisputed benefits associated with smart biogas energy generation are driving steady growth and demand for the use of highly efficient biogas CHP distributed power plants.”

2G bills itself as the largest independent manufacturer of combined heat and power (CHP) systems, with manufacturing plants in Germany and America (2G Manufacturing Inc.).
 

Bandit Industries

The chipper manufacturer’s Model 2680XP, 3680XP and 4680XP Beast horizontal grinders feature new designs, including a system with a 30-tooth setup and 2-inch-wide teeth compared with the standard 60-tooth, 1-inch-wide teeth arrangement. Bandit says while a 60-tooth setup is still ideal for grinding wood of a larger diameter, this system setup works best for processing leafy, stringy material.

Beast XP Series recyclers also are equipped with a new proportional drive system for hydraulics on the equipment’s feed system, helping to deliver maximum feeding rates without overfeeding the machine. Bandit says this updated system will monitor engine loads and automatically adjust the feed rate to match. The system has the ability to not only proportionally feed, Bandit says, but also can switch over to six different feed speeds.

More information about the Beast XP Series recyclers is available at  www.banditchippers.com or at  800-952-0178.