Maximizing Energy Revenues: Providing the Best Incentive to the Contract Operator

Author(s):  
Anthony LoRe ◽  
Paul Stoller ◽  
Robert Hauser

Communities that own waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities rely heavily on the revenues generated by their facility to help pay for the costs to finance, operate and maintain these facilities. The two primary revenue streams are tipping fees and energy sales, generally in the form of electricity. While communities often retain all of the tipping fee revenue, revenue from the sale of energy is nearly always shared with the contract operator. In some cases the shared energy revenues include both capacity and electricity payments. The basis of this strategy is to offer the contract operator an added incentive to maximize this revenue stream through more efficient operation and, in the case of capacity payments, to meet certain capacity commitment criteria required by the energy purchaser. This strategy recognizes that the contract operator has some degree of control over the factors that affect energy production. Under most existing service agreements, which date back to the 1980s, energy revenues are shared on a 90/10 basis, with 90 percent going to the community. Now that many of these service agreements are coming up for renewal or are expiring, communities will need to revisit how best to share energy revenues with the contract operator in order to maximize the total revenues retained by the community. This paper analyzes several different approaches to sharing energy revenues in light of the operational experience gained over the past 20 plus years and concludes that, while energy revenue sharing is still in the best interest of the community, the widely employed strategy of a 90/10 split may not offer the best incentive, and therefore may not lead to the maximization of energy revenues to the community.

Over the past 30 years, the partners now collaborating in Europe on fast-reactor development have taken the technology from a theoretical possibility to an engineering reality. In that time there has been a progression from experimental zero energy facilities followed by small power-producing engineering test reactors, to prototype reactors and a large commercial-size reactor. The paper describes the highlights of the reactor programmes in the partner countries and by example illustrates the experience gained from reactor operation and some of the principal activities in the supporting development programme. These include such topics as fuel performance, fast-neutron physics, liquid-metal thermal hydraulics, sodium chemistry, instrumentation and safety aspects. The paper concludes by summarizing some of the main objectives of the current development programme, which is directed to the support of the European Fast Reactor design being prepared by the European design and construction companies.


Author(s):  
Paul J. Stoller ◽  
Anthony LoRe ◽  
William Crellin ◽  
Robert Hauser

This paper discusses one of the key lessons learned from administering the first generation of service agreements for public owners of waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities over the past 22 years and how those experiences were incorporated into a new service agreement for the operation and maintenance of Pinellas County’s 24 year old, 3,000 tpd WTE Facility to better protect the county’s interests. Additionally, a major issue raised by the operating companies during the competitive procurement process for continue operation of the facility is discussed and how that concern was addressed in the new service agreement is also presented. Capitalized words or terms used in this paper are defined within the new service agreement.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 1260-1262
Author(s):  
Stela Sefa ◽  
Tania Floqi ◽  
Julian Sefa

The wastewater treatment plant serving the city of Durres, which is the second most populous city of Albania, employs the tertiary advanced wastewater treatment method and engages in biogas production to achieve energy efficiency. In order to empirically evaluate the plant’s energy efficiency realization, the total biogas produced and converted to electricity for daily consumption was measured during a three years period (2016 - 2018). The highest electricity produced was recorded in 2016, with a daily average of 844kWh compared to 550kWh and 370kWh in 2017 and 2018, respectively. So that the plant meets proper criteria to classify as an energy-efficient entity, 30.0 percent of its electricity consumption must be derived from biogas. Converted in kWh, the plant should generate 2,975 kWh/day. Based on the biomass and energy values measured during the study period, it is concluded that electricity supplied from biogas met 6.0 percent of the plant’s energy requirements, or one fifth of the energy-efficiency target. While the plant was successful in carrying out the full waste-to-energy production process, the electricity supplied from biogas was very low and did not fulfil the plant’s self-energy requirements.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-165
Author(s):  
Paulo Brito

The sustainable energy will play a key role in the future of the planet, not only because in 20 years Biomass is expected to deliver around 30% of total energy consumption, but also because BioEnergy, produced mainly through combustion and gasification of agro-industrial waste, woody materials and forest crops, is expected to be fundamental for sustainable energy production. Problems related to the emissions of greenhouse gases, lack of fossil natural resources and the increasing price of fuels have progressively encouraged research and adoption of new technological strategies for energy production from renewable sources and application of waste-to-energy (WTE) concepts. Syngas obtained from gasification of biomass and industrial wastes constitutes an interesting resource for energy generation because it has lower impacts for the environment compared to traditional technologies and allows for the valorisation of waste residues as feedstock. This work presents the scope, potential and technologies related to the use of biomass resources with a focus on thermal gasification of wastes.


Endocrinology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 162 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manasi Das ◽  
Consuelo Sauceda ◽  
Nicholas J G Webster

Abstract Mounting evidence suggests a role for mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including type 2 diabetes, aging, and ovarian failure. Because of the central role of mitochondria in energy production, heme biosynthesis, calcium buffering, steroidogenesis, and apoptosis signaling within cells, understanding the molecular mechanisms behind mitochondrial dysregulation and its potential implications in disease is critical. This review will take a journey through the past and summarize what is known about mitochondrial dysfunction in various disorders, focusing on metabolic alterations and reproductive abnormalities. Evidence is presented from studies in different human populations, and rodents with genetic manipulations of pathways known to affect mitochondrial function.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Vourdoubas ◽  
Vasiliki K. Skoulou

<p>The landfill gas (LFG) produced from the existing landfill site in Heraklion city, Crete island, Greece, is not currently exploited to its full potential. It could however be exploited for power generation and/or combined heat and power (CHP) production in near future by fully unlocking its energy production potential of the gas generated from the landfill site. This gas (LFG) could feed a 1.6 MW<sub>el</sub> power plant corresponding to the 0.42% of the annually consumed electricity in Crete. The LFG utilization for power generation and CHP production has been studied, and the economics of three energy production scenarios have been calculated. An initial capital investment of 2.4 to 3.2 M €, with payback times (PBT) of approximately 3.5 to 6 years and Net Present Values (NPV) ranging between 2 to 6 M € have been calculated. These values prove the profitability of the attempt of bioenergy production from the biogas produced from the existing landfill site in Heraklion city, Crete. Based on the current economic situation of the country, any similar initiative could positively contribute to strengthening the economy of local community and as a result the country, offering several other socioeconomic benefits like e.g. waste minimization, creation of new job positions etc. by increasing, at the same time, the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) share in energy production sector etc. Apart from the favorable economics of the proposed waste to energy production scheme, all the additional environmental and social benefits make the attempt of a near future exploitation of the landfill gas produced in Heraklion, an attractive short term alternative for waste to bio-energy production.</p>


1984 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Ian Stessel ◽  
J. Jeffrey Peirce

Author(s):  
Ronald Baker ◽  
Robert Peters ◽  
Edul Chikhliwala

Multicomponent Infrared Gas analyzers have been a workhorse as Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS) in the waste-to-energy (WTE) application for the past two decades. It is the technique of choice for many facilities. With obsolescence for electronics, instrumentation and data acquisition systems (DAS) averaging less than 10 years, the earlier multicomponent CEMS are being upgraded to what is now a third generation of that technology. This paper describes the evolution of the three generations of multicomponent CEMS. The evaluation of this technology in the WTE application encompasses the operating histories of nearly two dozen facilities demonstrating compliance with this type of CEMS. Specific details explaining the sampling systems, analyzer optics & controls, interface and communication with plant distributed control systems, and DAS systems are presented. Relative accuracy test audit (RATA) results, CEMS availability histories and annual maintenance costs are reviewed presenting a unique insight into both initial capital costs and operating costs. Actual annual man-hour totals for preventive maintenance (PM), unscheduled maintenance, and annual consumable parts costs are provided. Advances in computer capabilities have provided an opportunity for CEMS functions to not only become more comprehensive but also more robust. Key among these advances is the ability for factory-support services to be provided not only for the software platform but now even down to the basic auditing parameters of the analyzers themselves. Third generation CEMS now feature remote access of the analyzers from the instrumentation repair shop, the vendor’s factory or from the company’s technical service center.


Author(s):  
Asger Danielsen

Process optimization of Waste to Energy plants (WtE plants) is of particular interest because control performance is crucial for the profitability of the overall operation of the plant. WtE plants represent very large investments and an optimal efficiency in operation is crucial for the return of the investment. Process optimization including optimal control of the abnormal operating situations when the waste quality is out of the normal range is thus very attractive in order to increase the profitability and efficiency of the waste incineration operations. This presentation will describe how high-level control based on expert system can be used in a practical and convenient way to provide a more efficient operation of a WtE plant and provide a capacity increase of 3–6% or more and thereby be a very attractive investment for an existing or new WtE plant operator.


Author(s):  
K. G. Burra ◽  
P. Singh ◽  
N. Déparrois ◽  
A. K. Gupta

Abstract Development of alternative carbonaceous sources for energy production is essential to alleviate the dependence on depleting fossil fuels which led to increasing atmospheric CO2 and thus global warming. While biomass utilization for energy and chemical production has been extensively studied in the literature, such studies on municipal solid wastes is difficult to interpret due to the heterogeneous nature of the waste. Understanding of the influence of individual components is necessary for comprehensive development of waste-to-energy pathway. One such waste that is complicated and has often been ignored in the literature is composite polymer absorbent material waste which can also be considered as a potential feedstock for thermochemical pathway of energy production. Composite polymer absorbent materials are ubiquitously used these days in the form of sanitary napkins, diapers, water blockers, fire blockers and surgical pads due to their high water-absorptive nature. Pyrolysis and CO2 gasification is ideal for such materials due to its versatile feedstock intake and uniform product output in the form of syngas with adjustable composition. CO2 gasification also provides the added benefit of CO2 utilization which provides carbon offset to this process. In the present study, a mixture of cellulose, absorbent material (sodium polyacrylate), polypropylene and polystyrene in a fixed proportion, to model approximate composition of a diaper, was examined for its pyrolysis and CO2 gasification capability for viable syngas production. The influence of individual components into the syngas yield from the composite waste gasification was also investigated. A fixed-bed, semi-batch reactor facility along with gas chromatography was employed to analyse the syngas yield and compositional evolution. Pyrolysis was done under nitrogen atmosphere and gasification was done under CO2 atmosphere. CO2 gasification provided net CO2 consumption which means a net reduction in carbon emissions per joule of energy produced. The sample was tested under four isothermal conditions of 973, 1073, and 1173 K to understand the impact of operational conditions on the syngas yield. Influence of individual component of the composite absorbent waste on the syngas yield and composition was also analyzed by comparing these syngas characteristics with that of the yield from gasification of its individual components separately at 1173 K. These investigations provided us with novel results on the behavior and capabilities of these composite polymer absorbent wastes and which opens up a new avenue towards efficient utilization of solid waste resources for sustainable energy production in the form of syngas which can also be used for various chemicals production such as methanol, gasoline and other petrochemical products.


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