Date: February 25, 2010
Source: News Room
A New Orleans-based startup company called Sun Energy Group LLC has begun construction of a waste-to-energy plant on formerly industrial land in the eastern part of the city that had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. The initial plant will produce about 114 net megawatts of power by employing plasma gasification to convert regular household garbage into a synthesis gas which will then be cleanly burned to produce electricity. The company's president, D'Juan Hernandez, says the plant will create 100 jobs and should be operational by late 2012 or early 2013. It is being designed to process 3,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day, gross, with metals removed for recycling.
To learn more, visit: www.sunenergygrp.com.
From Sun Energy's website:
Sun Energy is building a waste-to-energy facility in an industrial corridor in the Eastern part of New Orleans which will take thousands of tons per day of municipal solid waste, essentially household garbage, and turn it into enough electricity for 60,000 homes. This will be done in an enclosed, controlled facility that will be unrecognizable as a waste facility to the public. The only indication of garbage being brought into the facility is the truck traffic going to and from the site.
Renewable Energy Will Be Great for New Orleans!
The economic impact of the Sun Energy Facility is tremendous. Begin with the escalating cost to dispose of 4,000 tons of municipal solid waste every day. The Sun facility can contract with the city in a long term agreement, capping that cost below today's prices, today. The electricity Sun Energy produces can be sold to the retail provider, be it the local utility or another provider, at a fixed price for a long term. This is stable pricing not subject to the volatility of natural gas or any other commodity. The Sun facility's construction equals millions of dollars of investment delivering almost $100 million annual economic impact to the City of New Orleans, with forty to fifty full time plant jobs plus the Sun Energy Group corporate headquarters located in the city. There are other benefits to the Sun facility as well. This plant can anchor a green industry in New Orleans to foster more renewable enterprises. This plant will also be used on an educational front to teach the importance of renewable energy and recycling to our schools.
Waste Destruction NOT incineration
The technology is called Plasma Gasification, and was developed by Westinghouse Plasma. It is an electrically created, extremely high heat source which destroys waste in an oxygen starved environment so there is no burning. The system is closed so there are no emissions while the waste is being destroyed. What is left are hot gases, which are cleaned into a low btu synthetic fuel, and a molten stream of lava like substance, which is molded into number of construction products and road bed material. The garbage is transformed at the molecular level so no harmful materials are allowed to leach into the environment. The synthetic fuel, or syngas, is cleaned and burned like natural gas to create electricity. The plant looks like a light manufacturing facility, with no detectable odors or visible signs of garbage in the vicinity, and is constantly monitored for environmental sensitivity.
Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin