Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume III, Issue
50, December 16,
2013
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
Here's
another buzz word we can
chew on, another term that
gets people who are
interested in finding and
using waste conversion
technology painted into a
tight corner:
Commercial.
"We have
to have a Conversion
Technology that is
commercial
somewhere." "That company
isn't commercial
yet; they are still at the
demonstration stage." "The
risk is too high: they have
not been commercially
proven." "Too early to
work with them: they don't
have a commercial
project."
It's as
if the condition of being
commercial just magically
occurs at some point, when
actually
commercialization
happens in stages and by
degrees. And just how are
we applying the word? Are
we talking about a
commercial company,
or a commercial
technology, or a
commercial facility,
or … or what?
Let's say
a well-established
"commercial" company gets a
contract and installs their
anaerobic digester at a
operational food processing
plant: they've certainly
entered into a Commercial
Agreement. If the same
company installs the same
digester at a National Lab
to fine-tune the
technology, write research
papers and garner bragging
rights, that's not a
Commercial deployment,
that's Research,
Development and
Demonstration (RD&D).
Same technology, different
application.
"Projects"
are things we are in the
process of doing. Keeping
that in mind, here's a
mind-bending oxymoron:
Commercial Project.
By the time a development
is up and running, making
(or losing) money, it is no
longer a Project, it's a
Facility. Let's put a finer
point on that problem: when
that Commercial Company
sold their anaerobic
digester to another company
that runs the Food
Processing Plant, where's
the "project"? If all goes
as planned, it's simply an
equipment installation.
That AD unit gets
integrated right into the
overall processing system
at the facility like any
other piece of needed
equipment.
Ah!
There's an important
concept: if all goes well,
we'll never see the full
market penetration of waste
conversion technologies.
These complex pieces of
equipment and the methods
needed to run them are
rapidly becoming common
place, and soon will be
just about as exciting as a
pump, a grinder or a
generator. It's just that
we don't have easy ways to
do "comparison shopping"
for small-footprint
Anaerobic Digesters … yet.
So when a City tries to
figure out what sort of
Conversion Technology will
safely and cost-effectively
turn their organic slops
into fuel and power, they
have to start by looking
for units that are already
up and running, that are
backed by proper service
and not costing more than
they are worth, that are
Commercial.
Not that the usual search
process is simple, or even
very effective. If you send
out a Request for
Qualification to Commercial
Companies and ask them if
they can build and operate
what you need, of COURSE
they are going to tell you
exactly what you want to
hear. That's just Business,
folks.
Hey
Rube!
Every project site is
different; every suite of
agencies has their own twist to
their approval process. Whether
the conversion equipment you
seek is running in the UK or in
downtown Boulder, it is still
in Commercial Operation. When
you look over this week's News,
think about the stage of
commercialization represented
by each development. Good News:
it's
working.
This Week's Top Story
Nexterra to
Provide Biomass Gasification
System for 10 MW Birmingham
Plant
Colorado based MWH Global, Inc
has announced that MWH
Treatment has secured the
contract from Birmingham
Bio-Power Ltd to design, build,
and maintain a new 10.3 MW
biomass gasification facility
in Tyseley, Birmingham, United
Kingdom (UK).
12/13/2013
The
Week's News
NOTE:
If you are using IE10 and our
website isn't loading as
smoothly as you would like or
the page jumps when you click
on a link to go to a certain
news item, just change to
"compatibility view" and all
will be
fine.
CR&R
Receives SCAQMD 'Permit to
Construct' Organic Waste AD
Facility
California
based CR&R
Environmental Services
has announced receipt of
a Permit to Construct
from the South Coast Air
Quality Management
District (SCAQMD) for an
organic waste anaerobic
digestion recycling
facility.
12/13/2013
USDA, Navy's
'Farm-to-Fleet' Program Will
Blend Biofuels with Standard
Fuels
Secretaries of the US
Department of Agriculture
(USDA) and the Navy have
announced that the USDA and
Navy's joint "Farm-to-Fleet"
venture will now make biofuel
blends part of regular,
operational fuel purchase and
use by the military.
12/13/2013
UK DEFRA
Releases Waste Management
Plan for
England
The United Kingdom's Department
for Environment, Food &
Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has
released the "Waste Management
Plan for England" bringing
current and planned waste
management policies together in
one place, and providing an
analysis of waste management in
England.
12/13/2013
Braskem, Genomatica Partner for
Commercial Development of
Biobutadiene
Brazilian
company Braskem S.A. and
California based Genomatica,
Inc have announced an agreement
for the joint development of
commercial process technology
to make bio-based butadiene
from renewable feedstocks.
12/11/2013
Commissioning Begins at Three
Tamar Energy AD Facilities in
the
UK
London based
Tamar Energy Limited has
announced that three new
anaerobic digestion (AD)
facilities with a combined
capacity of 6 MW have been
built at various locations in
the United Kingdom (UK), and
are entering the commissioning
phase.
12/11/2013
BDI-Bioenergy Starts Up
Multi-Feedstock Biodiesel Plant
in
France
Austria based
BDI-BioEnergy International AG
has announced that the biggest
Multi-Feedstock BioDiesel plant
in France (Le Havre) has been
completed and brought into
operation successfully.
12/11/2013
OriginOil
Launching Permanent
Technology Showcase at Model
Fish
Farm
California
based OriginOil Inc has
announced that it will
inaugurate its Permanent
Technology Showcase at the
model sustainable fish farm
Aqua Farming Tech near the
Salton Sea on December 18th.
12/11/2013
Future of North America's
Database of Wood to Energy
Facilities Is
Ensured
The US Endowment for Forestry
and Communities (Endowment) has
announced a new partnership
with three associations
representing various segments
of the wood-to-energy sector to
ensure continuation of
www.Wood2Energy.ORG.
12/10/2013
Construction
Starts on £81m
Derry/Londonderry Renewable
CHP
Plant
The United Kingdom (UK) Green
Investment Bank and the
Northern Ireland based Evermore
Group have announced the onset
of construction of an £81m
biomass renewable power plant
being built on a Londonderry
Port and Harbour Commissioners
site at Lisahally.
12/10/2013
Britain’s
Largest Coal-Fired Power
Station Opens 1st
Coal-to-Biomass
Plant
Britain's largest coal-fired
power station is about to
become one of Europe’s biggest
renewable electricity
generators with the opening
today of the Drax Group plc's
coal-to-biomass conversion
plant, and with new FEED
funding to further the White
Rose CCS project, also based at
the site.
12/09/2013
Methes
Energies Signs LOI to
Acquire Assets of OTC Energy
Technologies
Nevada based Methes Energies
International Ltd has announced
signing a Letter of Intent
(LOI) to acquire the assets of
OTC Energy Technologies Inc.
(OTC), including all of OTC's
technologies and knowhow
relating to the conversion of
several types of biomass into a
chemical quality synthesis gas
(syngas).
12/09/2013
Waste2Tricity
Acquires Exclusive License
for Alter NRG Plasma
Technology
Waste2Tricity Ltd (W2T) has
announced that its subsidiary
Waste2Tricity International
(Thailand) Limited, has
converted its option for
exclusive access to the Alter
NRG Corp Westinghouse Plasma
Gasification Technology in
Thailand into a full exclusive
license agreement.
12/09/2013
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