City moves forward with waste-to-energy project

thestamfordtimes.com
08/12/2009

STAMFORD - - Approval was granted for Nexterra - - a Vancouver-based bio-mass gasification company - - to develop plans for Stamford's controversial waste-to-energy plant in a special meeting of the Water Pollution Control Authority. The firm is a manufacturer of biomass gasification systems that generate low-cost heat and power by converting waste, primarily wood, into energy. The WPCA plans to build a sewage sludge-to-energy converter plant in the city to generate electricity, thus lowering energy costs, and minimizing emissions, said Ben Barnes, chairman of the WPCA and the city's director of operations.

The initial design agreement with the firm, approved Aug. 3, will cost $45,000. A completed waste-to-energy plant is expected to cost $40 million. To date, $10 million has been raised during three different congressional sessions through state Department of Energy grant funds and local matches, said Barnes.

Barnes said the agreement will advance the process and will determine the project's financial feasibility, while resolving any technical issues. "The cost of the work they will be providing should be higher," said Barnes. "We are working at that rate in hopes that it will lead to future business." Barnes said there are a number of people who are staunchly opposed to the construction of the plant, which has made it harder to get grants from the DOE.

Some groups, like the Stamford Taxpayers PAC question whether Nexterra, which specializes in wood waste conversion, can best execute the project. In a letter to Stamford officials, resident Louis Basel, a chemical engineer and opponent of the project, outlined major issues with the plan. "Nexterra developed gasification systems to displace natural gas at sawmills, panelboard plants, pulp and paper mills, and institutional wood fuel," said Basel. "Note that waste treatment plants are not in the list, only facilities with free wood."

Basel indicated that Nexterra's technology works when wood is locally sourced. Stamford would need to buy and import large amounts of wood, costing the city over $600,000 a day, he stated. According to Barnes, upon completion, the plan will be reviewed by the Planning Board, Board of Finance and Board of Representatives for approval. He said the WPCA might see approval for the project in the next six months.