Teru Talk Newsletter

Teru's Trash Talk

Ahhh - thermal waste conversion is indeed a "heated" topic, considering the response to last week's Trash Talk. Folks were a bit shy about actually leaving public comments on the website, preferring to send us direct messages in the hopes that their comments wouldn't come back around and bite them in their … uh, paycheck. But hey, that's fine: we're not bashful.

Teru's rant: California's agency responsible for guiding Waste Management, the Department of Recycling and Resource Recovery (CalRecycle), has not lived up to their charge nor to the Governor's edict to even-handedly provide a feedstock driven, technology neutral waste conversion playing field.

Some say: "Nay, CalRecycle will indeed permit thermal waste conversion - never has the agency denied such a permit!" Others comment: "Point out the guilty culprits behind this debacle!" We hear, "Thermal waste conversion technologies aren't Clean!" but - how would we know with so few examples allowed, and anyway: Clean, compared to what? "Thermal waste conversion isn't Economical!" Yeah - take away all their support and give it to cooler technologies, it's gonna have that affect. Maybe our agencies should just make sure waste conversion operators and their equipment are simply within environmental standards regardless of the technology, and then let an unfettered marketplace decide.

It's a shame that what agency assistance that thermal conversion developers find must come from Energy and Air, as if there is no inherent Waste Management social benefit. Despite the definition of state Recycling, our CalRecycle continues to isolate thermal conversion as ineligible for Recycling support. Here's the thing about Market Access: if you want to fix a race, you let everyone run. Then you just grease the skids for those you prefer, and require those you don't like to carry a bag of rocks.

Teru Talk is pretty careful to limit our name calling to Public Agencies, not individuals. People come and go, but Politics and Policy, Regulations and Law have a sticky way of hanging around. If you want to get at the roots of this mess, you need look back more than a decade to greed-based bias insinuating unscientific criteria within our guiding Renewables laws. Building on an infirm base is dangerous; not correcting the present problem is inexcusable.

Consider the entire Recycling and Resource Recovery gamut. Strip away every arbitrary unscientific label, then see where we have artificially tipped the balance in favor of a few to the detriment of many waste conversion technologic approaches. If you still insist on pointing fingers, follow the Money back to see who benefits from each insidious economic imbalance. Or, you could just get busy and correct the problem. Those whose pockets are cut the deepest will most assuredly step forward in vociferous protest.

Hey Rube!

The United Nations has declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils. It is too bad that conversion of biomass residuals to biochar, one of the most important contributors to soil health, has to rely on pyrolysis. This form of thermal conversion falls into the Black Hole of Ineligibility if you are seeking a California Recycling Market Development Zone support.

This Week's Top Stories

Stobart Signs 14-Yr Supply Contract for 40MWe Biomass Plant in Wales

Stobart Group Ltd has signed a 14-year index-linked agreement with Glennmont Partners to supply fuel for a proposed 40MWe waste wood-fuelled biomass plant near Margam, South Wales. 01/28/2015

B&W Vølund Contracts to Construct 40MWe Biomass Plant in Wales

The North Carolina headquartered Babcock & Wilcox Company has announced that its Denmark-based subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S, has been awarded contracts by Margam Green Energy Ltd. for more than $200 million to engineer, procure, and operate a state-of-the-art biomass power plant in Margam, Wales. 01/28/2015

The Week's News

Biomass Innovation Centre to Host Bioeconomy Strategy Consultation Series

The Biomass Innovation Centre (BIC) of Nipissing University, Ontario, Canada has scheduled a series of six half-day regional consultation sessions in February and March addressing development of the Northern Ontario Bioeconomy Strategy. 01/30/2015

AnaeCo Granted Two Australian Patents for DiCOM Bioconversion Process

Australia based AnaeCo Limited has announced receipt of official notification of the issuance of two new patents by the Australian Patent Office. 01/30/2015

Vencor International Brings First Torrefaction Machine Online

Colorado based Vencor International, Inc has announced that the first torrefaction unit utilizing recently acquired technology has been completed and is now online. 01/30/2015

SeAB Energy Selected by RBS Innovation Gateway for Micro-AD Trial

United Kingdom (UK) based SeAB Energy Ltd successfully pitched its patented approach to anaerobic digestion to the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and was awarded the opportunity to place its micro-scale system within the RBS' Innovation Gateway for real-time testing. 01/30/2015

UN Declares 2015 as International Year of Soils, IBI Highlights Biochar

The 68th United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution A/RES/68/232, officially declaring 2015 as the International Year of Soils (IYS), and nominating the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for program implementation with governments and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. 01/30/2015

RSB Launches Public Consultation on P&Cs for Biomaterials Certification

The Switzerland based Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) has announced that the 60-day public consultation is open for revision of the Principles & Criteria (P&Cs), the core of the RSB certification system for sustainable production of biomass and biomaterials. 01/28/2015

Greenbelt Resources to Manufacture EcoPAS Vapor-Capture System

Paso Robles, California based Greenbelt Resources Corporation has announced its selection by Pasadena company EcoPAS LLC to manufacture the company's passive alcohol capture system (PAS) for recovery of ethanol vapor from wineries. 01/28/2015 

Innovate UK to Host Webinar for Agri-Tech Catalyst Round 4 Funding

A networking and briefing event exploring the United Kingdom's recently opened Round 4 of the £70m Agri-Tech Catalyst funding scheme is scheduled for February 24, 2015 in Birmingham. 01/27/2015

City of Palo Alto and TerraPass Partner to Provide Carbon Offset Program

The City of Palo Alto, California, has contracted with TerraPass to launch and maintain the city's voluntary PaloAltoGreen Gas carbon emissions offset program for the next three years. 01/27/2015

UPM BioVerno Renewable Diesel Receives the Finnish Key Flag Symbol
UPM BioVerno, UPM's renewable wood-based diesel has received yet another acknowledgement when it was granted the Finnish Key Flag Symbol. 01/26/2015

PHG Energy Acquires MaxWest Gasification Plant And Patents

Tennessee based PHG Energy LLC (PHGE) has officially acquired multiple intellectual property assets and a municipal gasification plant due to the bankruptcy of Florida-based MaxWest Environmental Systems, Inc. 01/26/2015