Green3Power Gains Pact to Build Florida Waste-to-Energy Unit

Green3Power Operations Inc. (G3P) has gained an agreement to build a $175 million waste-to-energy (WTE) facility for St. Lucie County, Fla., at the site of the county’s landfill.

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based subsidiary of BioPower Operations Corp. has agreed with the county to develop the renewable energy gasification facility at the county’s Glades Road Landfill, and the plan goes before the county commissioners July 21, according to a news release.

The facility will convert waste into ultra-low sulfur synthetic green No. 2 diesel fuel using G3P’s licensed gasification technology and the Fischer-Tropsch process to turn gas into fuel. The WTE operation will extend the life of the landfill while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, G3P said.

G3P is working with Vanderweil Engineering, a joint venture partner in the facility. The operation will convert about 1,000 tons per day of municipal solid waste (MSW), construction and demolition (C&D) debris, used tires and yard waste to the synthetic diesel fuel. If needed the operation can pull additional waste from the county landfill.

The facility will be permitted and built during the next 18 months. After the plant is constructed G3P will provide operations and maintenance for the facility for 20 years with a 10-year extension.

G3P is a gasification WTE company. BioPower CEO Robert Kohn said the company hopes to develop WTE and waste remediation projects throughout the world using the G3P technology.

Waste-to-energy operations continue to grow steadily, and particularly waste to fuel. In May Dynamic Recycling LLC said it is building a recycling and ethanol disposal plant in Bristol, Tenn. Last June Montreal-based Enerkem Inc. opened a waste-to-biofuels and chemicals facility in Edmonton, Alberta. It was built to produce renewable chemicals, and by the end of this year it will add production of advanced ethanol.

In February Blue Sphere Corp. formed a joint venture with York Capital Management affiliates for its plan for a waste-to-energy facility in Charlotte, N.C.

It’s also key for Florida to establish more recycling and waste diversion infrastructure. The state in 2008 set an ambitious recycling goal of 75 percent, but it is currently at 49 percent with just five years left to reach the mark.