Fulcrum Clears Financial Hurdle to Rev Up Construction in 2013

Three years after announcing its breakthrough in converting MSW to ethanol, Fulcrum BioEnergy appears to have secured all the funding necessary for its first MSW to low-carbon fuels plant in Storey County, located 20 miles east of Reno, Nev.

The Pleasanton, Calif.-based company landed a $105 million loan guarantee by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in August. Fulcrum originally filed a registration for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2011 but rescinded its filing later.

Courtesy: Fulcrum BioEnergy

“The current IPO market environment remains challenging, especially for development stage companies like Fulcrum,” President and CEO James Macias said. “Because of this we have secured commitments from alternative capital resources to advance our MSW to renewable fuel program and we have withdrawn our registration statement.”

Fulcrum also closed an equity investment agreement with Waste Management in November 2011 that could provide up to $70 million for the Sierra BioFuels plant. The proposed plant is expected to produce close to 10 million gallons of ethanol each year. The company secured its feedstock and entered an offtake agreement for the plant in 2009. In addition to ethanol, the Sierra BioFuels plant will produce its own renewable energy to run the plant.

Fulcrum uses a two-step process to convert post-recycled MSW into ethanol. An InEnTec downdraft partial-oxidation gasifier is used to convert the sorted MSW to a syngas. The syngas then runs through a catalyst in Fulcrum’s proprietary alcohol synthesis process which it developed with Nipawin and the Saskatchewan Research Council before the ethanol is finally separated and purified.

The basis of Fulcrum’s business strategy is to secure zero-cost feedstock agreements around the country, thus giving it a competitive advantage over those who use corn or other forms of biomass. While Fulcrum has only just started construction on its Sierra BioFuels plant in Nevada, the company currently has feedstock agreements in 23 other cities across the U.S.

Better BTU: Fulcrum’s turning point was landing the $105 million loan from the USDA. The government has laid out significant dollars in an attempt to jumpstart development of biofuel technologies that utilize non-food feedstocks.  While we’d still like to see the industry focus on clearing one hurdle – clean, economic and efficient gasification – before approaching the next, we like Fulcrum’s business approach. Still a lot has to happen if the plant is to be in production by the end of 2013, as the company states. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for news out of Nevada.

Recommended Reading:

Fulcrum Secures $175M for Waste-to-Fuel Gasification Project – Waste Management World (Dec. 3, 2012)

$105 Million USDA Loan Guarantee for Waste-to-Biofuel Facility – Waste Management World (Aug. 7, 2012)

DoD's $3M Award to Sierra Energy Proves Commitment to Renewable Energy

Government involvement in developing the renewable energy industry has gotten a bad rap over the years.  Certainly no one reading this blog needs to be reminded of the Solyndra debacle. Several recent moves by the Department of Defense, most notably its announcement that it awarding Sierra Energy a $3 million grant prove that the U.S. military is undeterred and committed to investing in renewable energy solutions, and we here at the Better BTU are glad to hear it.

Sierra Energy's FasOx Pathfinder.
Courtesy: Sierra Energy

The federal grant will allow California-based Sierra Energy to build a commercial-scale waste gasification system at U.S. Army Garrison Forth Hunter Liggett in Monterey County, Calif. The company currently has a demonstration model of its FastOx Pathfinder at the Renewable Energy Testing Center in McClellan Park and also received a $5 million grant from California Energy Commission to build a waste-to-biofuels demonstration facility at the Port of West Sacramento.

Read our previous technology blog: On the Right Track: Sierra Energy Gets Smaller

Fort Hunter Liggett is one of a handful of pilot installation sites that are part of the U.S. Army Net Zero Program, which focuses on addresses sustainability and energy security challenges. The military has divided the program into three areas, targeting energy, waste and water. Fort Hunter Liggett is one of the six installation sites chosen to be net-zero energy. The post serves a double purpose, as it is also one of the six sites selected to be net-zero waste by 2020.

“This project is part of Fort Hunter Liggett’s ongoing efforts to meet Net Zero standards for both waste and energy,” garrison commander Col. Donna Williams said. “Disposing of the installation’s waste and using it to generate clean energy meets both those goals.”

The Department of Defense is the nation’s largest consumer of energy, spending $4 billion on energy bills per year. Part of the cost comes from managing nearly 2.3 billion square feet of building space in 300,000 buildings worldwide (EERE Annual Energy Management Report).

The grant to Sierra Energy isn’t the only example of the military spending money to try to reduce its carbon footprint (and hopefully some $$ further down the line). Better BTU wrote about Edwards Air Force base testing out the IST Gem, a shipping container-sized WTE unit (IST Energy - Finding its Niche).  The U.S. Navy has also signed an agreement with Biodico to develop advanced biofuels in an effort to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

Better BTU Take: We’ve heard the arguments against government involvement in developing private industry and don’t necessarily disagree with them but we are encouraged to see the military continue to dedicate funds to developing renewable energy through gasification. As the largest consumers, finding a solution will have a large impact both economically and environmentally and it may allow technologies to lower prices as companies begin to recoup costs from building No. 001 and 002.

Recommended Reading:

U.S. Department of Defense Selects Sierra Energy for 2013 Installation – Sierra Energy (Nov. 15, 2012)

Sierra Energy Lands Grant for Waste Gasification System – By Melanie Turner, Sacramento Business Journal (Nov. 16, 2012)

US Navy to Produce Biofuels, Bioenergy Worldwide – SustainableBusiness.com (Oct. 24, 2012)

Waste Reduction and Treatment in DoD Operations – Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP)/Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP)

Plasco Prepares to Cross the Finish Line in Contract Negotiations with Ottawa

After nine months of negotiation with the city of Ottawa, it looks like Plasco Energy Group is “very close” to signing its first commercial deal.

Courtesy: Plasco Energy Group

The local company had reached an initial agreement in December to build and operate a facility that would convert 300 tons of post-recycled MSW per day using a plasma gasification system.  Plasma gasification heats the waste to temperatures above 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit to convert it to a syngas that can be used to generate electricity or steam.

The city has agreed to a 20-year deal that that would cost $9.1 million annually to send 300 tons of trash per day to the facility. While this is still a hefty price tag for residents, it is actually less than they are paying now to dump waste in the nearby Trail Road landfill. The city currently pays a $96 tip fee to landfill owners. The $9.1 million the city will pay annually to Plasco includes an $83.25 tip fee once the facility is up and running.  

Perhaps more importantly, the deal with Plasco will extend the life of the Trail Road landfill. Currently on pace to reach maximum capacity in 2042, the Plasco deal means the city would be able to continue dumping trash until 2070. The city estimates the cost of a new landfill to be close to $250 million.

A by-product of plasma gasification is slag, a non-toxic solid that looks like a shiny black rock. Plasco hopes to sell that slag as an aggregate for concrete or asphalt. Under the current deal with Ottawa, Plasco’s Trail Road facility would produce roughly 11,600 tons of slag each year. The city will receive the material at no cost and is hoping to use it to build a ramp to the landfill and facility. Slag is still untested as an aggregate for roadways since the current demonstration model does not run on a consistent enough basis to create large enough quantities of slag.

City council members have the distinct advantage of already seeing a commercial-scale demonstration of Plasco’s plasma gasification technology in its own backyard. The 100 tpd demonstration facility was built at the Trail Road landfill site in late 2010 and has been running intermittently ever since. The site passed its environmental screening test and received a Certificate of Approval (Air & Waste) on Oct. 24, 2011. Although some city council members have voiced fears that the facility had not been running on a continuous basis for a full year, the large size of the demonstration facility should ease concerns of scaling the technology for a larger facility.

Better BTU Take: Plasco Energy has received an unparalleled amount of financial support from private investors like George Soros (see our previous blog post Finding Funding: Plasco’s Biggest Supporter) and we’re glad to see something come of it. Plasma gasification is viewed as one of the cleanest forms of gasification but it’s the cost that is going to keep it from becoming a widespread solution on American soil. This technology can only work where tip fees are extremely high, as they are in Ottawa. That leaves New York and California as the best bets for a project in the states.

Interestingly enough, Plasco’s plan to build a facility in Salinas Valley, California has recently hit the skids. CalRecycle, the agency charged with overseeing California’s recycling and solid waste reduction notified Plasco on Aug. 23^rd that its process didn’t appear to meet the state’s definition of gasification, preventing it’s electricity from receiving coveted ‘renewable energy’ status it needs to sell to utilities. The block comes almost two years after CalRecycle originally approved Plasco’s process and reports are that this is a purely political issue. Still, it hurts Plasco, who has already invested $1 million in the project.

Although there is no link between the Salinas Valley and Ottawa projects, it is worth noting that Plasco is still ironing out a deal to sell its energy to Ontario Power Authority. Should this become an issue at any point, there will be definite parallels between this project and the California one. Just goes to show you that nothing is certain ‘til the ink is dry and the facility is built and operating!

Further Reading:

Plasco Contract 'Very Close' to Completion – By Jon Willing, Ottawa Sun (Sept. 14, 2012)

Finding Funding: Plasco's Biggest Supporter – Better BTU Technology Blog (Dec. 21, 2011)

Plasco May Give Up California Dreamin' – By Joanne Chianello, Ottawa Citizen (Sept. 19, 2012)

Plasco Trail Road - 2011 Annual Report – Plasco Energy Group

City Hopes Plasco Slag is Hot Commodity – By Jon Willing, Ottawa Sun (Dec. 8, 2011)

Project Update: Local Energy Company Becomes Latest Stumbling Block for Dynamis

Entering Hidden Hollow County's
Sanitary Landfill. Courtesy:
Ada County.

 Hidden Hollow Energy is the latest group in a string that includes citizens and some country officials to try to stop the construction of a $70 million waste-to-energy plant in Ada County, Idaho.

The alternative energy company captures methane gas from decomposing trash at the Hidden Hollow landfill to generate 3.2 MW of power, which it then sells to Idaho Power. Hidden Hollow Energy LLC and Hidden Hollow Energy 2 LLC filed a $30 million claim on Tuesday, July 24^th, accusing Ada County officials of breach of contract.

Hidden Hollow Energy says that the county’s contract with Dynamis to provide 408 tons of trash per day that would otherwise go to the landfill undercuts promises Ada County made to them. The local company has been in operation since 2006 at the landfill and could lose approximately one-third of its daily landfill stream if the Dynamis project is completed.

While Hidden Hollow Energy 2’s motivation for action is likely a financial one since the company is currently trying to expand its operations by building on the existing pipeline structure, what concerns us is that some citizens back landfilling over a waste-to-energy project because only one side of the story has been told.

We have always supported transparency from companies in terms of technology and emissions and have repeatedly called on Dynamis to be more proactive in educating the public. But the fact remains that the alternative to a waste-to-energy project is far more damaging.

North Ravine Landfill at Hidden Hollow County Landfill.
Courtesy: Ada County.

Waste-to-energy projects heat up the trash at very high temperatures, which turns it into ash. The concern comes from the dioxins it creates in the process, which were a problem in the early days of the technology and could be toxic if ingested. However, advancements in technology mean that today’s plants have advanced emissions control systems, which are capable of delivering a very clean solution. The trace amounts of dioxins it emits can be regulated and closely monitored.

Landfilling, by contrast, leaks methane and other greenhouses as it decomposes. The EPA estimates that the best landfill gas collection systems collect only 75% of the gas and most systems hover between 47-50%. Additionally it reports that burning landfill gas for energy releases 20-40% more greenhouse gas pollution than flaring.

In fact, in June 2011 it came to Idaho DEQ’s attention that “certain contaminant levels had increased to a level such that Ada County was no longer in compliance with its existing air quality permit.” Ada County, Idaho DEQ and Hidden Hollow Energy have worked to find a solution but have not been successful. Idaho Power severed its power purchase agreement with Hidden Hollow Energy as a result of the company failing to meet its operation deadline of Feb. 28, 2012.

Both Dynamis and Hidden Hollow Energy have applied for air permits from the Idaho DEQ. Dynamis will have a three-month wait followed by a time of public comment. Ada County has 90 days to answer Hidden Hollow Energy’s tort claim before a civil lawsuit can be filed. While we have not seen the agreement between Hidden Hollow Energy and Ada County, it would be highly unlikely that the county would have entered into an agreement with Dynamis to provide trash it knew it couldn’t deliver.

Let the circus continue.

Energy Company Files Claim Against Ada County – CNBC (July 26, 2012)

Dynamis Faces Long Process – By Sean Olson, Idaho Business Review (July 27, 2012)

20120713 Formal Complaint – Hidden Hollow Energy 2 LLC vs. Idaho Power Company (July 13, 2012)

Fact Sheet: Landfill Gas – Energy Justice.net 

Project Update: Taylor Biomass Moves Forward in Montgomery

More than 16 months after beginning initial construction on a 21 MW gasification facility in Montgomery, N.Y., Taylor Biomass Energy has finally received all the necessary approvals from the town board to move forward with its project.

Better BTU first brought you the story on Taylor’s struggle to build a waste-to-energy facility next to his recycling plant in December (See: Taylor Made). Like many proposed WTE projects, its hit its fair share of obstacles, ranging from the possibility of losing a $100 million U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee due to federal cutbacks to securing feedstock. Taylor Biomass also had to appeal a Supreme Court judge’s decision to invalidate the project permits, a battle the company won late in 2011.

“There have been many steps to bring us to this point,” CEO Jim Taylor Jr. said. “I’m grateful to the town of Montgomery for helping us bring this project online in our own hometown.”

The new plant will be located next to the current Taylor Recycling Facility, expanding its capability to accept wood waste, construction and demolition debris and MSW. Taylor Biomass uses sand to indirectly heat and gasify waste through a process developed by Mark Paisley, the company’s chief technology officer.

Taylor Biomass signed its initial feedstock agreement with the city of Newburgh, approximately 15 miles from the Montgomery facility. Since then, the company has approached 41 municipalities, most recently presenting to the Port Jervis council on May 17^th.

Vice President for Business Development James Rollins estimates the company can save Port Jervis approximately 20 percent of the annual costs of waste disposal, translating to roughly $40,000.

Better BTU Take: Pushing a project through isn’t easy at this point of development in the industry. Taylor Biomass shows that persistence pays off and we hope this is the final hurdle for the company. We know that it isn’t over until the turbine starts spinning so we will keep our eye on it.

For Further Reading:

Waste Firm Makes Pitch to Port's Common Council – The Gazette, May 18, 2012

Taylor Biomass Gets Final Approval – Biomass Magazine, May 14, 2012

Energos Beats the Clock to Keep Knowsley Village Project Alive

Energos kept its four-year plan to build a gasification plant in Knowsley Village in Mercyside, United Kingdom in tact on Friday when it began construction on a 78,000 ton per year facility.

CAD Drawing of proposed Knowsley Village plant.
Courtesy: ENERGOS Website

The Echo, a newspaper in Liverpool first reported on Apr. 30^th that the Norwegian-based company was racing the clock to begin construction before May 9^th, when the planning permission would expire. While it made for a good story, industry experts understood that there was never any real danger for Energos since building work could be carried out before the consultation period for the company’s permit ends in late 2012.  A few bulldozers working on the site entrance and some tree maintenance is all that was required to keep the planning permission alive.

Energos Managing Director Nick Dawber reports that heavy construction will begin in June and take two years to complete.

While it didn’t’ take much to sidestep that problem, Energos knows its not out of the woods yet. Around 500 letters of objection have been filed to the Environmental Agency and struggles with the company’s first gasification plant at the Isle of Wight over the past two years are sure to add complications to the permitting process.

Courtesy: ENERGOS Website

Energos received planning consent for the Knowsley, Mercyside facility in May 2009. The site has since remained dormant due to the bad economy and trouble getting financial backing from banks. The technology firm currently has seven gasification plants producing thermal energy in Norway and Germany in addition to its first electrical plant at Isle of Wight. 

The Isle of Wight gasification plant has become the “first” waste-fueled plant of its kind to receive Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs), despite its setbacks in 2010. The facility was shut down twice for brief periods after breaching dioxin emissions limits. Waste Gas Technology, the company in charge of operating the plant worked with Energos and the Environmental Agency to make repairs and the facility has been running continuously since Oct. 2010.

The plant’s small setbacks were not without repercussions, however, as the Isle of Wight Council voted to overhaul its recycling program in and effort to lessen its dependence on the facility. The plant currently processes 30,000 tons per year to produce 1.8 MW of electrical power.

Better BTU Take: We are excited that Energos is getting another chance at a gasification facility in the UK. A large company with proven results in thermal energy that openly advertises its emissions is a great vehicle for the advancement of the technology. Getting permitted in Norway and the UK is no small accomplishment and we are excited to see that parent company ENER-G has opened an office in the U.S. as well.


Energos Company Website

Energos Beat Planning Deadline to Keep Controversial Waste Plant Alive in Knowsley VillageDevelopment Alive  The Echo, May 4, 2012


Waste Giant Energos Face Race Against Time to Meet Planning Deadline for Knowsley Village Plant The Echo, Apr. 30, 2012

Dynamis Energy: Oh The Places You’ll Go

For most companies, securing the first commercial contract can be a long and tedious process. It can take years to refine the technology, find a way to lower production costs and find the right client. While Dynamis Energy hasn’t yet crossed the finish line with a completed commercial project, its making moves on several continents.

Dynamis Energy is the creator of the 3.0 Waste-to-Energy Technology, a waste-to-energy system that is similar in some regards to the TOS Plant that has been operating in Barrow, Alaska since 1996. The Eagle, Idaho company’s simple design makes it easy to operate and relatively low-cost; something investors can get on board with.

In the last two years, Dynamis has announced plans to build several facilities on three different continents. The first, and most promising, projects began in its home state of Idaho. Hired by Ada County in June 2010, Dynamis signed on to build a facility at the Hidden Hollow Landfill in Boise. The company will lease the landfill for $1/year for 20 years and build a facility that will process 250 tons of solid waste per day in exchange. On Feb. 24, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission announced that it had approved the rate contract and that Idaho Power will sign a 20-year sales agreement. Operation is currently set to begin on Feb. 14, 2014.

Dynamis Energy's 3.0 Waste-to-Energy Technology

Eight months later, Clark County followed suit. After establishing the Eastern Idaho Regional Solid Waste District and completing a feasibility study, the county hired Dynamis to build 120,000 ton per year facility that will generate 13.5 MW of electricity. Rocky Mountain Power will purchase the power from Dynamis. The plant will be built in the Centennial Energy Park located East of Dubois. Construction will begin this summer and hopes to be finished within 15 months.

In February, Dynamis received good news on a project it has in the words in Puerto Rico. Dallas-based contractors Primoris Renewables announced it signed a $40 million contract to build two waste-to-energy facilties, working alongside Synergy Renewables and Dynamis. The plants will each process 180,000 tons annually to produce 10 MW of power.

In June 2011, the Idaho company announced it had entered a joint venture with All Way for the construction and management of a facility that will be integrated with an existing waste management plant in Lombardo, Italy. Permits have already been secured and construction was scheduled to start in late 2011, although we haven’t been able to find confirmation that it has started. The facility is currently scheduled to go online in fall 2012.

As if it wasn’t busy enough, Dynamis Energy announced in October 2011 that it was partnering with Planova, a Sao Paulo-based development firm, to pursue opportunities in South America. The pair will focus primarily on possibilities in Argentina, Brazil and Peru.

Better BTU Take: This company is on the move! We love that Dynamis is partnering with local firms to tap into foreign markets. It should keep the small company from becoming overextended. The question will be how many of these projects come to fruition – the announcement to completion ratio isn’t favorable and the more public projects that fail to cross the finish line, the harder it is for our industry to convince others of its legitimacy. Still, the projects seem headed in the right direction and the one in Boise has sparked interest for other counties in Idaho and Wyoming. This is a difficult company to keep up with due to the fact that their website is tragically out of date, but we’ll do our best to bring you the updates here!

Idaho Public Utilities Commission Press Release (Feb. 24, 2012) - PUC Approves Idaho Power Contract with Landfill Waste-to-Energy Project

Waste Management World (Feb. 1, 2012) - $40 Million Waste to Energy Gasificaation Contract for Dallas Firm

Dynamis Press Release (Nov. 11, 2011) - Dynamis Energy and Planova Sign Agreement to Construct Waste-to-Energy Plants in Brazil

Dynamis Press Release (June 9, 2011) - Dynamis Energy and All Way Sign Agreement to Construct Waste-to-Energy Plant in Lombardy, Italy

Waste Management World (Feb. 18, 2011) - 120,000 Ton Waste to Energy Gasification Facility Planned in Eastern Idaho

Other Better BTU Blog Posts on Dynamis: 

Project Update: Local Energy Company Becomes Latest Stumbling Block for Dynamis (July 31, 2012)

Project Update: Turning Up the Heat in Ada County (June 21, 2012)

Better BTU Project Update: Dynamis Energy (May 14, 2012)

Another One Bites The Dust…Or Does It?

We’ve seen it happen time and time again. A municipality or public institution announces its plans to build a waste-to-energy plant and environmental groups and opponents wreak havoc in order to block it. Historically, these tactics have been successful, especially when targeting public entities. But maybe not in Cleveland.

Days after the U.S. Environmental Agency sent a letter criticizing the city’s standards and urging the Ohio EPA to review the project, the city has amended its design and plans to resubmit for an air permit. This comes as a surprise to many who had thought the final nail on the coffin had been put in place.

A map shows where the proposed gasification plant at the
Ridge Road Transfer Station. (Courtesy: Google Maps)

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson announced plans for a $180 million gasification plant at the Ridge Road Transfer Station in early 2010. The idea is that the facility would produce power that would be sold to Cleveland Public Power. Before Jackson had even finished his speech, opponents of the project set to work to kill it.

The city sends approximately 60 truckloads of waste to landfills daily, trucking it to Mansfield for a price tag of $9 million each year. Jackson and his cohorts aim to reduce that number by a third and have set an additional goal of having Cleveland Public Power be 25% dependent on alternative energy sources by 2025.

The proposed gasification plant would be built by Princeton Environmental Group of New Jersey and use technology from Kinsei Sangyo, Co. in Japan. Cleveland’s facility would process about 560 tons of trash per day to produce 15 MW of power.

City Councilman Brian Cummins has tried to block the
gasification plant from moving forward. 

City Councilman Brian Cummins had led the charge for killing the waste-to-energy project. Cummins and critics from the Ohio Citizen Action and the Earth Day Coalition cite many concerns including the possibility of toxins like lead and mercury to be emitted through its exhaust, the inherit risk in a new technology and the cost. They propose trying to bolster the city’s lagging recycling rate (Cummins says the rate is only 5% while the city cites 11%) and exploring composting and anaerobic projects.

Regardless of what the actual recycling rate in Cleveland is, efforts have been made to increase recycling over the past three years and the city insists that it would continue to promote the practice. Research shows that recycling actually INCREASES in areas with waste-to-energy facilities, in part because metals and glass are automatically pulled out of the feedstock before it is processed.

As for the question about mercury and lead, Cleveland Chief of Communications Maureen Harper assures us that that the plant doesn’t create these elements and so they will not be emitted if they don’t go into the gasification process.

Additionally, the city funded a composting project in June and July 2010 where 15 tons of compostable materials were diverted from the landfill. Pulling organic material for composting isn’t always economically feasible and it doesn’t do any harm to the environment or the wallet it to send it through the gasifier.

The city’s modifications in an attempt to meet the EPA standard include raising the smokestack from 175 feet to 200 feet, which would spread the material over a wider area.

Better BTU Take: It’s still a toss up whether or not this project will make it to fruition, especially with the dedicated group of naysayers working to stop it. For our sake, we hope it does and we’ll keep our eyes on it.

For more information on this project:

Cleveland's Proposed WTE Plant Back on Track? - Waste & Recycling News (Feb. 24, 2012)

City of Cleveland Hopes to Spin Garbage Into Profits with New Waste-to-Energy Plant - The Cleveland Plain Dealer (May 7, 2011)

City of Cleveland's Office of Sustainability - Recycling and Waste Reduction

Study Showing How Recycling Increases in Areas with WTE Plants:

Recycling and WTE Compatibility by Jonathan Kiser

Various articles by Dr. Nick J. Themelis, Columbia University

Better BTU Brings You the Updates

Over the past two months we’ve blogged about five different projects in the realm of biomass, using various forms of gasification. As promised, we’ve continued to monitor these projects and will bring you periodic updates so you can give your Google search bar a rest. So sit back, and read up!

Taylor Biomass Energy: Taylor’s plans for a waste gasification facility in Montgomery, N.Y. have experienced several snags over the past two years but an article in the Times Herald-Democrat announced that the company has finally secured feedstock agreements.

CEO Jim Taylor (Second from the Left) with the Orange
County Chamber of Commerce in July 2011. Courtesy: OCC

Published on Jan. 24^th, the paper reports, “at least seven Orange County municipalities have now signed 20-year contracts” with Taylor Biomass Energy to haul their trash to the facility upon completion.

The news represents a big a win for CEO Jim Taylor whose previous negotiations with the county ended in August over the question of an escape clause. At that time, the City of Newburgh was Taylor’s only guaranteed customer for the proposed plant.

The latest announcement says that Cornwall, New Windsor, Goshen, Walden, Montgomery and Cornwall-on-Hudson have now joined Newburgh as future customers of Taylor Biomass Energy.

While the feedstock agreements are a good sign, Taylor still has a long way to go before it can open doors on a new facility. Although Sen. Charles Schumer has publicly supported the project, Taylor still needs to secure private funding for the $145 million facility in order to qualify for the federal loan guarantee he’s after.

Additionally, Taylor Biomass Energy is waiting for the outcome of a permit dispute it has with the state. A New York Supreme Court judge “invalidated the project’s permits and approvals” in September. The company won a stay after appealing the decision that allows for construction to continue but is not out of the woods yet.

Read more about Taylor Biomass Energy

Municipalities Sign On With Taylor Biomass - Times Herald-Democrat (1/24/12)

Sundrop Fuels: The Colorado-based company is moving forward with plans for its inaugural facility in Boyce, La. The Louisiana State Board Commission gave “preliminary approval to the issuance of $450 million in bonds by Rapides Parish officials to equip a new facility,” as reported by The Times-Picayune on Jan. 20^th.

The latest timeline has the pilot plant near Alexandria, La. on line by 2013 with a full plant functioning two years later.

Read more about Sundrop Fuels (discussed mid-article):

State Bond Commission approves Citizen Insurance Bond Refinancing - The Times-Picayune, Jan. 20, 2012

S4 Energy Solutions: Our guest blogger first put S4 Energy Solutions (named because of plasma is the fourth state of matter) on our radar back in November. The company opened the first commercial plasma gasification facility in the U.S. at the site of the Columbia Ridge Landfill in Arlington, Ore. The project is featured in February’s issue of Wired magazine.

A diagram of the S4 plasma gasification process.
Courtesy: S4 Energy Solutions. 

Plasma gasification has been a hot topic in the renewable energy field but has proved “too energy- and capital-intensive for real-world use on everyday trash,” according to magazine writer David Wolman. But S4 cofounder Jeff Surma is convinced he can make the process work on a large scale and has received millions in financial backing from Waste Management, that owns the landfill in Arlington.

Read More about S4 Energy Solutions:

High-Powered Plasma Turns Garbage Into Gas - Wired, February 2012

Liquid Fuel: The Holy Grail of Biomass

Imagine a world where the conflict in the Middle East doesn’t determine the price of filling up your car in America. According to Sundrop Fuels, it could be a reality sooner than you think.

Image courtesy of Waste Management World. 

Although only in business for three years, Sundrop Fuels is already making big strides in the advancement of “green gasoline.” Based in Colorado, the company produces advanced biofuels by gasifying cellulosic feedstock. The result is a clean renewable form of fuel that can be used in combustion engines, such as automobiles. 

And now Sundrop has a site for its inaugural facility. The company announced on Nov. 22, 2011 that it has purchased 1,200 acres of land near Alexandria, La. to build its first production facility. Aiming to be running at full speed by 2014, Sundrop Fuels estimates it will be able to produce close to 50 million gallons of “green gasoline” annually.

Unlike similar projects in the liquid fuel experiment, Sundrop Fuels hasn’t received federal loans to subsidize its project. The state is allowing the sale of tax-exempt private activity bonds and will offer standard performance-based incentives for the 150 new jobs the plant will bring to Alexandria, but both of these initiatives involve no risk to the taxpayer. This comes as a relief to many who are familiar with the $156 million loans the now-defunct Range Fuels received for its failed project in Mississippi.

So where is the money coming from for this $450-500 million facility? Chesapeake Energy Company became a 50 percent stakeholder in the company in July with a $155 million investment. Oak Investment Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers have also made $20 million investments and hold spots on the company’s Board of Directors.

While the forward motion on the project is exciting, many experts in the industry feel we are still at least a decade out from seeing any measurable results. The recent announcement of Range Fuel’s bankruptcy also serves as a reminder that we are still in the pioneering stages of this industry.

Better BTU Take: Big bets by big guys makes this a project worth following. 

Sundrop Fuels Press Release

Waste Conversion Congress on the West Coast

The Better BTU boarded a plane headed west on Monday, headed for San Jose, Calif. and the Waste Conversion Congress. Taking place at the Convention Plaza Hotel and billed as a "thought leadership conference and an unbiased forum" we are excited to hear from experts in our rapidly growing field.

But don't miss us too much! We're tweeting live from the conference and will be posting reports and our thoughts on what we're learning twice a day on a blog we set up specifically for the occasion!

Follow us on Twitter @BetterBTU and sign up for our blog updates to be sent straight to your email at http://thebetterbtu.blogspot.com.

Taylor Made

Jim Taylor (left) with Sen. Charles Schumer D-N.Y.
 on Dec. 6, 2010. Courtesy: MIDHUDSONEWS.CO

The construction on Taylor Biomass Energy’s 20-megawatt  biomass gasification plant in Montgomery, N.Y. is a project that has been over a decade in the making for company president and CEO Jim Taylor.

Taylor, who owns and operates Taylor Recycling, has been looking for a way to expand its capabilities. Running a gasification plant next door allows Taylor to process wood waste, C&D waste and MSW – enough to power approximately 27,000 homes in New York.

With the help of a $100 million loan guarantee from the U.S. DOE, pending due diligence, and the ability to utilize a 30 percent federal grant (Recovery Act, 1603), Taylor and his team were able to break ground on their vision on Dec. 6, 2010.

Biomass Magazine reports that start-up and commissioning of the facility is slated for the last quarter of 2012. Although an article from The Times Herald-Democrat written in late 2005 discusses Taylor’s plan to build gasifiers on 20 different locations, there is currently no information on the gasification system on the Taylor Biomass Energy website (www. taylorrecycling.com).

Building the first on his own site solves the problem of “who wants to go first.” With a $50 million price tag, investors want to see results before they lay out the funds.

“The pressure’s on to get one of these up and running,” Taylor is quoted in the Times Herald-Democrat article originally published on Oct. 2, 2005. “It’ll be a huge success when we get this first one operating.”

Taylor, who has been a large player in the movement to dispose of all the debris that was left over from the 9/11 attack, has been in communication with influential members of the New Orleans community about building a gasification plant down South to help expedite the Hurricane Katrina cleanup.

But of course, it all depends on getting the first one up and operating. Better BTU is interested, and will continue to bring you updates.