Renewable Energy from Waste news http://www.rewmag.com/RSS.ashx Recent news from Renewable Energy from Waste. 60 http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html Sat, 20 Sep 2014 11:39:18 GMT Sat, 20 Sep 2014 11:39:18 GMT Copyright (c) 9/20/2014 11:39:15 AM GIE Media Inc., All Rights Reserved. Bluesphere agrees to acquire seven AD facilities in Italy http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170615 http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170615 Company says it plans to acquire waste-to-energy facilities in select global markets. Bluesphere Corp., a Charlotte, North Carolina-based company that develops, manages and owns waste-to-energy (WTE) projects, says it is rapidly executing on its strategy to acquire fully operational facilities in select global markets. The company has just signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire seven such facilities in Italy.

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.
 

]]>
Fri, 19 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT
Parties file suit over recycling contract in Indianapolis http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170506 http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170506 RockTenn, GPC claim current contract violated bidding requirements. RockTenn, a Norcross, Georgia-based papermaking and recycling company; Graphic Packaging Corp. (GPC), a Chicago-based papermaker; and Cathy Weinmann, a resident of Indianapolis, have filed a suit against the city of Indianapolis’ Public Works Department over its award of a large contract to the waste and recycling firm Covanta. The contract calls for Covanta, Morristown, New Jersey, to build and operate a large mixed waste processing facility in the city adjacent to Covanta’s existing waste-to-energy (WTE) plant.

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.”
 

]]>
Tue, 16 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT
IMS Group rebrands as CP Global http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170531 http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170531 Rebranding designed to more accurately reflect companies' direction. San Diego-based CP Global, the umbrella brand of the CP Group (CP Manufacturing, Krause Manufacturing, MSS and Advanced MRF), IMS Electronics, IMS Recycling and Handy Metal Mart, has debuted a new name and logo.

Formerly known as IMS Group, CP Global is a group of related companies under common ownership, that is involved in various recycling and waste management industries. In a press release, the company says the rebranding to CP Global more accurately reflects the status and direction of the family of companies.

“We chose to integrate CP into our new and modernized corporate umbrella brand,” says Ashley Davis, marketing manager for CP Global. "Thanks to the success of CP Manufacturing and the CP Group of companies, CP’s brand has international name recognition, competitive market share and a truly global customer base. We are leveraging CP’s brand recognition with this change, as it is our largest and most well-known entity."

Davis points out that the new logo contains the same orbit found in the CP Group logo, which symbolizes a blue planet and a green movement. "The word ‘global’ encompasses our various brands while also reflecting our international reach and asserting our commitment to environmental sustainability,” Davis continues.

The companies that constitute CP Global have served the market for around 60 years. IMS Recycling, founded by Charles Davis in 1954, is the oldest company under the CP Global brand. Davis went on to found Handy Metal Mart in 1964 and CP Manufacturing in 1977. In 1999, IMS Electronics Recycling was formed for the special handling needs of electronic waste.

In 2003, CP Manufacturing acquired MSS, leading to the creation of CP Group. CP Group went on to acquire Krause Manufacturing in 2004, IPS Balers in 2007 (which was acquired by Avis Industries in August 2014, opening the door for CP Group to become an international distributor for its baler lines) and Advanced MRF in 2012.

“As the industry continues to evolve, so do we,” says Bob Davis, CEO of CP Global. “Being a leader in the recycling industry requires teamwork, planning and careful strategy. Our companies operate with a synergy that enables us to work seamlessly together, achieving more than the sum of our parts. The CP Global brand emphasizes this unity.”

]]>
Tue, 16 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT
Weltec Biopower receives order to expand digester plant http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170444 http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170444 U.K.-based AD plant processes food waste to create electricity. Weltec Biopower (UK) Ltd., based in Stoneleigh, United Kingdom, has been granted the contract to extend its food waste anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Piddlehinton, U.K. Plant owner Eco Sustainable Solutions Ltd. Is expanding with a further 1.1 megawatts (MW) of food waste processing capacity.

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.”

]]>
Mon, 15 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT
Global Clean Energy provides project updates http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170349 http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170349 Waste conversion technology company says it has conducted successful tests of pyrolysis system. Houston-based Global Clean Energy Inc. (GCE) has announced it has successfully concluded testing of tire-derived carbon char with Intertex World Resources Inc., Akron, Ohio, a global distributor of carbon black. The carbon char was produced in the pyrolysis systems that GCE says it will acquire from China. Preliminary testing validates GCE's conclusion that tire derived carbon char can be an alternative to virgin carbon black as a replacement in the dye, coloration and pigmentation markets currently being served with virgin carbon black. “This creates an opportunity for the successful deployment of GCE's pyrolysis tire to fuel projects once the purchase agreement is finalized,” a GCE press release states.

GCE says it has also finalized negotiations for a long-term tire feedstock agreement with one of the largest tire recyclers in North America. Further, carbon char testing will be concluded by Intertex World Resources over the next 60 days and is expected to lead to a purchase agreement between Intertex World Resources and GCE's tire to fuel pyrolysis project for the 3,400 tons per year of carbon char which will be produced from their upcoming plant. GCE currently has three of the four contracts required to successfully develop a pyrolysis tire to fuels plant being: tire chip feedstock agreement, plant site location and off-take agreement for transportation fuel. The carbon char purchase agreement will finalize the fourth agreement required to successfully implement a tire to fuel plant.

Additionally, the company says it is progressing with the acquisition of a ferrous metals company in the southeastern U.S. and expects to close on the acquisition during the fourth quarter of this year.
 

]]>
Fri, 12 Sep 2014 16:00:00 GMT
Honolulu WTE plant recognized by SWANA http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170422 http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170422 H-Power wins 2014 Gold Excellence Award at Wastecon. The city and county of Honolulu was named the winner of the SWANA Gold Excellence Award in the Waste-to-Energy (WTE) category for H-Power by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). The award was presented Aug. 26, 2014, at SWANA’s annual Wastecon conference, in Grapevine, Texas.

“Converting opala to energy, eliminating the need for one million barrels of imported oil every year, and generating revenue through energy sales to HECO make H-Power a vital part of the city’s sustainable future,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell says. “This technology is bringing us closer to eliminating the need for an everyday landfill on Oahu, with the third boiler making it possible for us to burn sludge and car parts that in the past were sent to the landfill.”

H-Power, which provides unique and innovative contributions to the WTE field by having both refuse-derived fuel and mass burn technologies on the same site, allows for comprehensive and strategic management of the island’s wastes. Additionally, H-POWER produces up to 73 megawatts of net renewable baseload power, reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels.

“H-POWER is a critical component to the city’s solid waste management plan and allows for nearly complete diversion of all municipal solid waste from Oahu’s only MSW landfill,” says Lori Kahikina, director of the Department of Environmental Services.

SWANA’s Excellence Awards Program recognizes outstanding solid waste programs and facilities that advance the practice of environmentally and economically sound solid waste management through their commitment to utilizing effective technologies and processes in system design and operations, advancing worker and community health and safety, and implementing successful public education and outreach programs.
 

]]>
Fri, 12 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT
Renewable Energy from Waste Conference features big names in corporate sustainability http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170348 http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170348 General Motors, Covanta, Keurig Green Mountain and Sierra Nevada to discuss achievements in waste conversion at November event. The second annual Renewable Energy from Waste Conference, Nov. 17-20 in San Jose, California, brings together the most relevant companies from the private sector that are making strides in waste conversion. These leaders in sustainability are incorporating technologies into their operations that are reducing waste going to landfills while offsetting the use of fossil fuels.

During the session, “Corporate Achievements in Waste Conversion,” attendees will hear how waste-to-energy (WTE) is part of Detroit-based General Motor’s strategy to reduce waste and produce energy from renewable sources. The company’s goal is to produce 125 megawatts of renewable electricity by 2020. Through initiatives involving waste-to-energy and landfill gas projects, the company is well on its way toward achieving that goal. Attendees will hear from Rob Threlkeld, GM global manager of renewable energy and John Bradburn, GM manager of waste reduction efforts for an overview of all the company has accomplished.

Also speaking as part of the panel is Mandi McKay, sustainability coordinator, Sierra Nevada, Chico, California. She will discuss how the craft brewery is offsetting the use of natural gas by producing energy from a waste byproduct produced from the brewing process. The system has been operating successfully for several years, producing heat for the brewing process.

Michael Van Brunt, director of sustainability for Morristown, New Jersey-based Covanta, and Christina Bosch Ladd, senior sustainability manager, Keurig Green Mountain, Waterbury, Vermont, will give a joint presentation during the session on the partnership the two companies have formed to compost and anaerobically digest coffee grounds from K-cups while using the K-cups as a fuel source in Covanta’s WTE plants.

Moderated by Renewable Energy from Waste magazine Managing Editor Kristin Smith, this session brings the best examples the private sector has to offer in the way of sustainable strategies that incorporate energy from waste.

More information about the conference is available at www.REWConference.com.

]]>
Thu, 11 Sep 2014 12:02:00 GMT
Waste Management’s recycling chief departs http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170327 http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170327 Bill Caesar has left his post following organizational realignment. Waste Management Inc. (WM), Houston, has announced that Bill Caesar, the president of its recycling division, has left the company following an organizational realignment.

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.

]]>
Wed, 10 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT
Yuengling installs co-gen system at its brewery http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170347 http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170347 Beer maker’s 2G Cenergy system provides 20 percent of its electricity needs.  Pennsylvania-based brewer Yuengling has installed a 400-kilowatts-per-hour CHP (combined heat and power) cogeneration power plant made by 2G Cenergy, St. Augustine, Florida. According to a 2G Cenergy news release, the plant provides about 20 percent of Yuengling's total electricity needs at the brewery, which is one of the oldest in the U.S.

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.).
 

]]>
Wed, 10 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT
Bandit offers new options for horizontal grinders http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170352 http://www.rewmag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=170352 Chipper manufacturer’s Beast XP Series recyclers can now process coastal vegetation. Bandit Industries, Remus, Michigan, has introduced new options for its Beast XP Series recyclers that it says will allow the Beast equipment to process coastal vegetation, viney material and other dense, stringy green waste like palms and vines.

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.

]]>
Wed, 10 Sep 2014 04:00:00 GMT