Waste Management to Fulfill Second Request from US Department of Justice
Waste Management, Inc. which has offered to buy rival Republic Services, Inc. said that U.S. antitrust officials had asked for additional information on the bid, which has been rejected by Republic as too low. The company said it had received a second request for information from the Department of Justice, which reviews certain deals to make sure they are not anticompetitive. They said that they would "respond promptly to the second request and will continue to cooperate with the DOJ as it conducts its review." Earlier in the month, Waste Management sweetened its offer to $6.7 billion, about $37 per share from an earlier offer of $34 per share. Republic rejected the offer saying that it "still substantially undervalues" the company and its proposed deal to merge with Allied Waste Industries, Inc. instead...Read More »
Covanta Buys Two Energy-from-Biomass Plants in Maine for $87 Million
Covanta Holding Corp. agreed to buy two biomass facilities in Maine for $87 million. Covanta entered a deal with Ridgewood Maine LLC and Indeck Energy Services Inc. that co-own the two nearly identical plants, located in West Enfield and Jonesboro. Together they produce 49 megawatts of power which will increase Covanta's energy-from-biomass capacity by 35 percent. Covanta will pay for the plants using cash on hand and drawing upon its existing revolving loan facility. Biomass facilities generate electricity by burning woodchips, sawdust, bark, tree trimmings, agricultural and wood waste from construction and demolition. "We are very excited about acquiring these two biomass facilities to expand our renewable energy portfolio," said Anthony Orlando, president and CEO of Covanta. As usual, the deal is subject to regulatory approvals and that of Ridgewood´s shareholders. Covanta expects both conditions to be met by year end...Read More »
Lake County Ind. Officials Approve $80 Million Waste-to-Ethanol Plan
Solid waste officials in Lake County approved a preliminary agreement with a company hoping to build an $80 million gasification-based waste-to-energy system that would convert municipal waste into ethanol. The Lake County Solid Waste Management District selected Powers Energy One (formerly Genahol-Powers 1, LLC) by a vote of 16-5. The plan calls for crushing and shredding carbon-based solid waste such as paper, cardboard, wood and food waste, and heating the mixture to 1,400 degrees in a low oxygen atmosphere. The resulting gas would be distilled into ethanol. "This answers so many problems facing society," said Jeff Langbehn, the district's executive director. The plan, which will need final approval after public hearings, was selected over a competing approach from Agresti Biofuels, with county officials saying that Powers Energy One did the best job of meeting the overall contractual, technological and financial hurdles...Read More »
SPSA to Stop Accepting Waste from Other States
The Southeastern Public Service Authority that represents nine municipalities in that part of Virginia said it has stopped accepting out-of-state waste and has no plans renew contracts that brought 73 thousand tons of wastes from other states last year. Bucky Taylor, the new executive director of SPSA, described the imports as "one of those bugaboos" that was a source of constant aggravation among its member communities. "We're not doing that anymore," he said. Waste imports would also have risen dramatically had a marine waste port in Portsmouth been constructed as planned under a partnership between SPSA and Covanta Energy. But that deal too fell apart amid much controversy. SPSA began importing wastes in 2001 to subsidize local disposal costs that otherwise should have risen to cover pending required pollution control measures at SPSA facilities. SPSA still has about $240 million in debt. The authority has already raised prices substantially and plans to impose "flow control" measures beginning in February 2009 to cover its obligations...Read More »
Oakleaf Makes Inc. Magazine's List of 5000 Fastest Growing Companies
Oakleaf Waste Management Inc. said it had been named to Inc. magazine's list of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the country. The East Hartford, CT-based waste services company, ranks number 1,975. "We are honored to have Oakleaf included on the Inc. 5,000 list," CEO Jim Barnes said. "Oakleaf continues to rank as one of the nation's most dynamic and forward-thinking companies and we are proud to be among some of the top independent entrepreneurs of our time." Oakleaf provides one-stop-shop and waste audit services to clients in more than 100,000 locations through a network of 5,500 haulers, recyclers, and waste diversion experts...Read More »
Alter NRG Reports Substantial Improvement in 2Q Results
Waste gasification-to-energy company Alter NRG said that revenues for its second quarter rose to $2.1 million from $583.7 thousand last year and that losses decreased to $2.4 million, or ($0.04) per share, from $3.6 million, or ($0.10) per share in the same period last year. Among many recent accomplishments, the company cited a deal to provide plasma gasification technology for a cellulosic ethanol facility in Madison, PA, executing engineering service agreements in Thailand, California and Minnesota, Canada's first Coal-To-Liquids (CTL) project, and closing a bought deal financing of $46 million...Read More »
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