Date: December 7, 2010
Source: News Room
Taylor Biomass Energy has broken ground on a $134 million biomass waste-to-energy plant in Montgomery, NY, following approval of the Town Board. That approval comes at the 11th hour as the company faces a Dec. 31 deadline to qualify for US Department of Energy (DOE) clean energy grants of about $30 million and a $100 million federal loan guarantee made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Taylor has also signed a $2.4 million-a-year deal with the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey which is buying renewable energy credits from the company. The plant is expected to generate enough electricity to power 20,000 households. Jim Taylor, president and CEO of Taylor Biomass Energy, said in a press release that "Our project addresses the growing issue of solid-waste management and over-capacity landfills across America - and it creates renewable energy at the same time. We think it's really a model for other urban areas to follow."
PRESS RELEASE
Schumer, Hinchey, Local Officials Join Jim Taylor For Taylor Biomass Energy Facility Groundbreaking Ceremony
Schumer, Hinchey Fought for $100 Million in Federal Loan Guarantees that Paved Way for Monday's Groundbreaking
New Facility Will Create More Than 400 Construction and Permanent Jobs and Spur Regional Economic Growth in Hudson Valley
Montgomery, NY -- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey and other state and local officials today joined Jim Taylor for the Taylor Biomass Energy facility Groundbreaking Ceremony in the Town of Montgomery in Orange County. The event marks the start of Phase 1 construction on the new facility, which has received necessary town and state approvals to move forward. The new plant will create more than 400 construction and permanent jobs and spur economic growth throughout the region.
"It is rare to witness a revolution, but that's what the project we are breaking ground on today represents," said Schumer. "Generating energy while reducing trash and producing no pollution is an absolute game changer for this country, and it's happening right here in the Hudson Valley, all the while creating jobs and badly needed economic activity."
"This is an historic and nationally-significant project that will spur much-needed economic development and job creation in our region, while accelerating the development of green energy technology in this country," said Hinchey. "It has been a great honor to work with Jim Taylor whose vision, leadership and tenacity have gotten us to this point. The Town of Montgomery will now be host this "first-of-a-kind" biomass-to-energy technology-- a technology that will dramatically improve the way that we deal with solid waste in this country and provide sustainably generated electricity to our communities."
Jim Taylor, president and CEO of Taylor Biomass Energy, said: "Our project addresses the growing issue of solid waste management and over-capacity landfills across America – and it creates renewable energy at the same time. We think it's really a model for other urban areas to follow. With this technology, we actually have a viable alternative that will help us reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and so make our carbon footprint smaller. Not many projects today can deliver like that."
Mike Oates, president and CEO of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp., said that Taylor's project will help lead a New York recovery. "His innovation and entrepreneurial spirit are helping to bring high-quality jobs and capital investment to the Hudson Valley. We are now seeing the benefits of Jim's innovation and of the political leadership that helped bring this project home."
Over the past two years, Schumer and Hinchey worked with officials at Taylor Biomass urging the U.S. Department of Energy to award the project a $100 million loan guarantee to make possible this innovative green energy project. In August, Taylor Biomass received notification that the project would receive the key loan guarantee pending a due diligence review, after both Schumer and Hinchey personally lobbied officials at the U.S. Department of Energy. In addition to the loan guarantee, the Taylor Biomass Project will also benefit from a 30% federal grant for clean energy projects. Both the loan guarantee and grant program were made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which Schumer and Hinchey supported.
FROM TAYLOR BIOMASS ENERGY WEBSITE:
The Taylor Technololgy has multiple commercial applications, and has a high investment appeal because of the project's potential for replication and the flexibility of the system design.
The Taylor Gasification Process produces steam, power and a relatively clean MCV product gas that can directly substitute for natural gas in industrial process equipment. The steam and product gas allow for the potential of a wide spectrum of energy products, or "product slate", providing added value to investors.
Biomass gasification that results in an MCV product gas not only provides a renewable means for producing direct energy products (e.g. electric power, and gaseous and liquid fuels), but is also useful for synthesis applications which can produce a broad suite of chemicals (e.g. Fisher-Tropsch liquids and hydrogen).
Biomass provides the only non-fossil fuel route for renewable hydrogen production. In the future, facilities developed using the flexibility of Taylor Technology can be outfitted to operate as a bio-refinery to produce fuels, chemicals, hydrogen, or process heat in a product slate uniquely designed for a specific location.
As more stringent environmental regulations for preserving and protecting natural resources are enacted and enforced, the demand and price for recycled products continues to rise and available markets for the energy by-products also result.
After initial process operation, other energy products will be investigated. These include:
a steam product that will be sold to a neighbouring industrial distribution center;
production of commercial quantities of liquid fuels (ethanol);
commercial quantities of Fisher-Tropsch liquids, and;
as demand increases, hydrogen for hydrogen-fuelled vehicles.
Customers looking to reduce dependence on the electric grid need the higher efficiencies of combined-cycle, electric power generation processes. They are often forced to use natural gas to minimize emissions, which has become a higher cost option. The Taylor Technology and Taylor Energy Solution will be available as a lower-cost source of gas and heat, with expanded opportunity once TBE has also commercially proven the use of synthesis gas in combustion turbines and fuel cells. TBE facilities will compete directly with transfer stations, landfills and incinerators by charging competitive tipping fees for disposal of MSW, C&D and wood waste.
Future Project Opportunities
TBE believes compelling project economics, and highly desirable benefits to communities, will create strong demand and widespread opportunities to construct similar facilities throughout the United States and other Countries.
The Taylor Energy Solution lends itself to an extremely flexible approach to replication at large scale, general use, through the variety of facility design that can be achieved with the integrated process. "Build-to-suit" combinations for commercial use presents a wide array of possibilities for facility rollout:
-- Build integrated facilities that include a solid waste recycling/biomass processing plant, biomass gasification plant, and a power island; sell the electric power.
Build integrated facilities that include a solid waste recycling/processing plant and biomass gasification plant; sell the product gas to an adjacent power plant or other industrial and /or commercial user.
Build co-generation facilities consisting of a solid waste recycling/processing plant, a biomass gasification plant, and a heat recovery/boiler process; produce and sell steam to an existing or new industrial or commercial user.
Build integrated facilities which include a solid waste recycling/processing plant and biomass gasification plant; sell the product synthesis gas to produce hydrogen, alcohols and other bio-fuels, or synthesis gas for an existing chemical process.
Develop sites that start with a profitable C&D recycling/processing plant, with future expansion to host an MSW recycling/processing plant, biomass gasification plant, and potentially a power island. Such C&D plants can make money in the short term even before they have a gasification plant to supply and this could be a viable pipeline building strategy.
Acquire or joint venture with an existing landfill or transfer station; the Taylor Energy Solution can turn around an underperforming company in the short term, with future plans to add on a C&D recycling/processing plant, an MSW recycling/processing plant, a biomass gasification plant, and potentially a power island.
Acquire or joint venture with an existing recycler; the Taylor Energy Solution can turn around an underperforming company in the short term, with future plans to add on a biomass gasification plant and potentially a power island.
Build facilities based on non-food agricultural feedstocks.
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