Mass burn
Pennsylvania capital sells WTE facility for $130 million
Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA), Lancaster, Pa., has officially acquired the Susquehanna Resource Management Complex (SRMC), formerly known as the Harrisburg Resource Recovery Facility in Harrisburg, Pa., for a total purchase price of $130 million.
As part of the transaction, LCSWMA receives $16 million toward the purchase price: $8 million from the previous owner and $8 million from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The purchase is supported by 20-year waste disposal contracts with the city of Harrisburg and Dauphin County, Pa., in addition to a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of General Services.
According to LCSWMA, this project is the first public-to-public acquisition of a waste-to-energy (WTE) facility in the United States and was a key ingredient in relieving the distressed City of Harrisburg from over $360 million of debt. LCSWMA’s newly expanded system will now manage approximately 900,000 tons of solid waste with annual revenues of approximately $85 million.
“After three years of intense exploration, planning, negotiating and preparations, I’m thrilled to say that we are the new owners of the oldest operating WTE facility in the United States,” says James Warner, LCSWMA CEO. “This innovative, strategic acquisition will provide the region with future waste processing capacity and offer additional flexibility to LCSWMA’s already robust integrated system.”
As new owner, LCSWMA is now fully managing the site, which includes an 800-tons-per-day, three-boiler mass-burn WTE facility, a transfer station and two ash landfills. Covanta Energy, Morristown, N.J., will continue operating the WTE facility portion of the site under an amended agreement with LCSWMA.
LCSWMA’s business plan includes a series of capital improvements to the site over the next four years totaling $18.25 million, including the installation of new scales and implementing traffic flow patterns to improve on-site time for customers; constructing a new small vehicle drop-off building for residents and deliveries of construction and demolition (C&D) waste; purchasing equipment for upgrades to the WTE facility; expanding the current tipping floor; constructing a new building for ash storage; revamping the current site entrances; and implementing extensive landscaping work.
The SRMC serves as the drop-off location for waste haulers who collect refuse in Dauphin County and Harrisburg. The SRMC, originally constructed in 1972 and extensively renovated with three new boilers and a new turbine generator set in the mid-2000s, can generate up to 23 megawatts of renewable energy. The facility will process approximately 275,000 tons of waste and generate 130,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy each year.
More information on SRMC is available at www.lcswma.org/srmc.
Anaerobic Digestion
New York state AD project moves forward
Global Clean Energy Inc. (GCE), Houston, has provided an update on its project to develop an anaerobic digestion (AD) operation on the Seneca AgBio Energy Park in Romulus, N.Y. GCE and Seneca will provide the land, infrastructure, rail access and gas input facility while Full Circle Renewables LLC (FCR) will provide the technology and operations.
To supplement the feedstock required, GCE is moving forward with a biomass drying operation under a tolling agreement with Novera Proteins Inc. to process biomass feedstock, including grape pomace from local wineries, to produce supplemental agricultural feedstock for the AD plant.
“FCR welcomes the opportunity to be working with GCE and the Seneca Energy Park to develop another AD project to meet the biogas needs of our customers,” says Jim Quan, CEO of Full Circle Renewables.
The Seneca AgBio Green Energy Park project has been awarded a $2 million incentive from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), for the production of electricity. In addition, the state has awarded the site with a tax exempt bonding package of $7 million for capital purchases of equipment and infrastructure. GCE also has applied for New York StartUP tax incentives.
GCE foresees an investment of $25 million in 2014. Additionally, GCE feels that the project could generate more than $9 million in annual revenue by 2015.
Anaerobic digestion
San Jose’s anaerobic digestion facility opens
Zero Waste Energy Development Co.’s (ZWEDC) Dry Fermentation Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Facility in San Jose opened Nov. 22, 2013.
The facility is designed to convert food scraps, yard waste and other compostable materials from San Jose businesses into renewable energy, while producing high-quality compost.
With organics comprising the largest portion of materials still landfilled, San Jose was committed to developing an innovative facility capable of processing and recovering these valuable materials. Phase I of the ZWEDC plant will process up to 90,000 tons per year of organic waste, generating approximately 1.6 megawatts of clean renewable power.
The facility stands as the largest of its kind in the world, according to the company. The ZWEDC facility is part of the San Jose’s transformation of its commercial solid waste management system that began in July 2012 when the city adopted a dry/wet collection system for businesses. Recently, that system has more than tripled the commercial recycling rate to more than 70 percent.
While food waste is already being composted by ZWEDC, the new ZWEDC facility is designed to augment the system with even more advanced processing and recovery of the food waste stream’s energy value. This project moves San Jose closer to achieving its goal of zero waste to landfill by 2022.
The ZWEDC facility site also offered an opportunity for a unique collaboration between ZWEDC, San Jose and CalRecycle, a state regulatory agency. The site was a city-owned unclosed landfill. ZWEDC invested $11.8 million to close the landfill and develop infrastructure on the site as prepayment for its 30-year lease. Future phases will offer additional revenue in lieu of lease payments as a per ton fee for material processed through those phases.
The fully enclosed and ventilated facility includes 16 anaerobic digesters plus four in-vessel composting tunnels.
Legislation and regulations
EPA proposes 2014 renewable fuel standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed for public comment the levels of renewable fuels to be blended into gasoline and diesel as required by Congress under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
Developed with input from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the proposal seeks public input on annual volume requirements for renewable fuels in all motor vehicle gasoline and diesel produced or imported by the United States in 2014. The proposal seeks to put the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program on a steady path forward—ensuring the continued long-term growth of the renewable fuel industry—while seeking input on different approaches to address the “E10 blend wall,” according to an EPA press release.
“Biofuels are a key part of the Obama Administration’s ‘all of the above’ energy strategy, helping to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, cut carbon pollution and create jobs,” says EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “We have made great progress in recent years, and EPA continues to support the RFS goal of increasing biofuel production and use. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to develop a final rule that maintains the strength and promise of the RFS program.”
The proposal discusses a variety of approaches for setting the 2014 standards, and includes a number of production and consumption ranges for key categories of biofuel covered by the RFS program. The proposal seeks comment on a range of total renewable fuel volumes for 2014 and proposes a level within that range of 15.21 billion gallons. Specifically, EPA is seeking comment on the proposed volumes in the table above.
Nearly all gasoline sold in the United States is E10, which is fuel with up to 10 percent ethanol. EPA points out that production of renewable fuels has been growing rapidly in recent years. At the same time, advances in vehicle fuel economy and other economic factors have pushed gasoline consumption far lower than what was expected when Congress passed the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2007. As a result, the U.S. is at the E10 blend wall, the point at which the E10 fuel pool is saturated with ethanol. “If gasoline demand continues to decline, as currently forecast, continuing growth in the use of ethanol will require greater use of higher ethanol blends such as E15 and E85,” EPA says in the press release.
The EPA notes that the Obama Administration has taken a number of steps to allow or encourage the use of higher ethanol blends. In 2010, EPA approved E15 for use in vehicles newer than model year 2001 and developed labeling rules to enable retailers to market E15. In addition, since 2011, USDA has made funding available through the Rural Energy for America Program to support deployment of flex-fuel pumps that can dispense a range of ethanol blends. The 2014 proposal seeks input on what additional actions could be taken by government and industry to help overcome current market challenges, and to minimize the need for adjustments in the statutory renewable fuel volume requirements in the future. Looking forward, EPA says the proposal “clearly indicates that growth in capacity for ethanol consumption would continuously be reflected in the standards set beyond 2014.” EPA says it looks forward to further engagement and additional information from stakeholders as the agency works in consultation with the DOE and USDA toward the development of a final rule.
In a separate action, EPA also is seeking comment on petitions for a waiver of the renewable fuel standards that would apply in 2014. EPA expects that a determination on the substance of the petitions will be issued at the same time that EPA issues a final rule establishing the 2014 RFS.
Once the proposal is published in the Federal Register, it will be open to a 60-day public comment period.
More information on the standards and regulations is available at www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm, and more information on renewable fuels can be found at www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm.
Refuse-derived fuel
Midwest Fiber Recycling makes acquisition
Midwest Fiber Recycling, based in Normal, Ill., has expanded its operations by acquiring the recycling assets of Data Management Services (DMS), based in Terre Haute, Ind. The deal closed Dec. 20, 2013. DMS will retain its engineered fuel business.
DMS services customers throughout the Wabash Valley region of Indiana. Its engineered fuel program uses postindustrial materials traditionally landfilled or incinerated and blends them into a fuel product for the cement industry. Midwest says the acquisition will combine Midwest Fiber’s recycling capabilities with DMS’ expertise. The companies say their combined proficiencies also will lead to growth opportunities and diversifying the types of commercial materials that can be recycled.
Midwest Fiber Recycling currently operates four facilities in Illinois—Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, Springfield and Peoria—with a service area extending throughout the Midwest. Combined, it owns more than 260,000 square feet of processing and warehousing facilities and processes more than 260 million pounds of recyclables each year. Midwest Fiber also operates a confidential document destruction division and a food composting company.
Landfill Gas
San Antonio landfill gas project receives funding
Dallas-based Friedman, Luzzatto & Co. and Memphis, Tenn.-based Duncan-Williams Inc. have announced the completion of a $9 million taxable revenue bond issue to finance the construction of a landfill gas-to-energy project in San Antonio. The two firms describe the funding mechanism as “one of just a few bond issues in the U.S. for a landfill gas-to-electricity project.”
Friedman, Luzzatto and Duncan-Williams were co-senior managers on the bond issue. Friedman, Luzzatto is a broker/dealer and financial advisor specializing in municipal securities while Duncan-Williams is a full-service financial services firm.
The landfill-gas-to-electricity power plant will be constructed at the Nelson Gardens Landfill, owned by the city of San Antonio. The purpose of the project is to capture the methane emitted from the decomposing waste in the landfill to produce electricity.
The city of San Antonio authorized the issuance of the taxable revenue bonds through the Mission Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), a nonprofit corporation authorized to issue bonds and lend the proceeds to a special-purpose entity. MEDC does not guarantee the bonds.
The bond proceeds were lended to Nelson Gardens Energy LLC to construct the project. Nelson Gardens Energy LLC (NGE) was formed by New York-based Greenfield Energy to take ownership of the project. The total size of the project including debt and equity is approximately $14.8 million.
“There have been very few methane gas power projects financed through the bond market,” says Barry Friedman, president, Friedman, Luzzatto. “However, because landfill gas projects are a growing sector in the alternative energy sector as utilities look for viable ways to capture unused sources of renewable energy and put them to use, I believe you will see more entities turning to the bond market for financing.”
Greenfield also secured a Section 1603 Grant, taking advantage of a federal program that reimburses eligible applicants for 30 percent of the costs of installing specified renewable energy projects.
When completed, NGE is projected to produce 4 megawatts (MW) of electricity annually. CPS Energy, a utility owned by the city of San Antonio, has a 15-year power purchase agreement with NGE to buy the power.
“This project will add additional electric capacity for the citizens of San Antonio and turn what was a waste product into an additional source of income for the city,” says Gary Craig, a Nelson Gardens member. “But more importantly, it will help the city achieve its goal of implementing green initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint by capturing methane instead of releasing it to the atmosphere.”
Greenfield was selected by the city of San Antonio in January 2010 for the project. In July of 2012, Greenfield retained the services of Friedman, Luzzatto & Co. affiliate, Dallas-based Carlyle Capital Markets, Inc., as a consultant to assist with financing for the project, which is one of three landfill gas-to-electricity projects developed by Greenfield Energy.
TDIndustries will construct the power facilities for the landfill. The plant’s facilities will capture the landfill gas and prepare it for use in engines that will power generators to make electricity.
Refuse-derived fuel
Cemex petitions to use refuse- and tire-derived fuels in Louisville
Global cement manufacturing firm Cemex has petitioned the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District to allow the use of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) as an alternative fuel in its cement manufacturing process at its Kosmos cement plant in Louisville, Ky. The company says the RDF will replace traditional fuels such as coal and petroleum coke.
Cemex already has approval for the use of RDF from the Louisville Metro Planning Commission and the Louisville Metro Solid Waste District. Additionally, the Kentucky Division of Waste Management permitted its use as a fuel in the summer of 2013. The draft permit is now with the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District for review.
The Kosmos facility has been using tire-derived fuel (TDF) since 2010 to meet up to 25 percent of the plant’s energy needs, which has resulted in the consumption of more than 3 million scrap tires.
The facility also uses other recycled raw materials, including coal ash and synthetic gypsum (spent lime from wet scrubbers) from electrical generating plants and mill scale from the steel industry.
The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District accepted public comment through Dec. 30, 2013, on a proposed new air quality permit for the plant that would allow the new fuel to be burned.
The new permit would allow up to 10 tons per hour of RDF and increase the company’s TDF to 9 tons per hour. Cemex says the switch would result in a potential fossil fuel substitution of more than 60 percent—an estimated 30 percent for RDF and an estimated 37.5 percent for TDF.
During trial runs, Cemex says it was able to achieve approximately 30 percent fossil fuel substitution with RDF and about 15 percent substitution with TDF, resulting in a total fossil fuel replacement of nearly 50 percent.
Municipal WTE
Ontario energy-from-waste project awards contracts
The Region of Peel, Ontario, has awarded HDR Inc., Omaha, Neb., two contracts to provide environmental assessment, communication and procurement services for a new energy-from-waste (EfW) facility. The Peel Energy Recovery Centre is only the second new municipally owned EfW facility to be proposed in Ontario in the last 20 years, according to HDR.
HDR has worked with the Region of Peel, which has a population of 1.3 million, for several years on its waste management system. HDR is currently serving as the owner’s consultant during construction of a similar facility serving the regions of Durham and York, Ontario.
The Peel Energy Recovery Centre will process 300,000 tons per year of Peel’s residential garbage to produce usable energy, such as steam or electricity, and to recover recyclable metals. It will allow the region to reduce the overall volume of waste going to landfill by up to 90 percent, decreasing its reliance on landfill disposal and its impact on the environment. Construction is expected to start in 2017 and to take approximately three years.
Anaerobic digestion
CR&R receives permit to construct green waste AD facility
CR&R Environmental Services, based in Stanton, Calif., has received a permit to construct an organic waste recycling facility at its Perris, Calif., campus. The facility is permitted to process more than 80,000 tons of organic waste per year in phase one and expandable to process more than 300,000 tons per year in later phases.
CR&R has selected high-solids anaerobic digestion (AD) technology from Eisenmann Corp., Crystal Lake, Ill. Energy from the organic waste will be used to make compressed natural gas (CNG) to fuel CR&R’s fleet of collection vehicles.
“A successful project requires understanding and planning for the materials that our facility will receive and process,” says Mike Silva of CR&R. “Eisenmann’s high solids technology was clearly the best solution for organics management, enabling CR&R to process the broadest range of materials. The flexibility and reliability of the Eisenmann system are essential to the economic success of the project and led us to choose them as our technology provider not just for this project but also for future opportunities.”