Breaking Ground for a New 3,000 Ton Per Day Waste to Energy Facility

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond H. Schauer ◽  
Leah K. Richter
Keyword(s):  
Solid Waste ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Preliminary Design ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Palm Beach County ◽  
Processing Facility

Created in 1978, the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (Authority) has developed an “award winning” solid waste management system that includes the following facilities to service the residents and businesses in Palm Beach County, Florida: • North County Resource Recovery Facility (NCRRF); • Residential and Commercial Recovered Materials Processing Facility; • Six Transfer Stations; • Class I Landfill; • Class III Landfill; • Biosolids Processing Facility; • Ferrous Processing Facility; • Woody Waste Recycling Facility; • Composting Facility; and • Two Household Hazardous Waste Facilities. The Authority has proactively planned and implemented an integrated program to provide for the long term, reliable, economically sound and environmentally sustainable management of solid waste in Palm Beach County. The County’s anticipated growth necessitated that the Authority evaluate several options for long-term processing and disposal capacity. This resulted in a decision to expand its WTE capacity with a new mass burn facility, the first facility of its kind to be constructed in the US in almost two decades, reaffirming its commitment to waste-to-energy. The planned 3,000 TPD facility will provide the Authority with a total disposal capacity of 5,000 TPD generating approximately 150MW of renewable energy. The decision to proceed with the expansion was approved by the Authority’s Board in October 2008. The Authority, with its Consulting Engineer, Malcolm Pirnie/ARCADIS, has since made significant progress in the implementation of this landmark project including the completion of the preliminary design, securing environmental permits, procuring a full service vendor, issuance of nearly $600 million revenue bonds for signing an electrical sales contract, and ongoing extensive public outreach efforts. This presentation will focus on the ongoing development of the new mass burn facility and an update of the status of activities conducted to date such as: • Environmental Permitting – Issuance of the PPSA Conditions of Certification and submittal of the Post Certification/Pre Construction requirements; • Vendor Procurement – Iterative procurement process designed to obtain vendor input through final selection and contract award of a full service vendor (Design, Build and Operate); • Preliminary Design – Innovative design features such as the utilization of SCR technology for control of NOx emission and incorporation of rainwater harvesting and water reuse; • Public Outreach – the Authority’s efforts to keep the public informed through mass mailings, community meetings, television commercials and educational materials for all audiences; and • Financing – Approach designed to preserve alternative minimum tax benefits.

Renewable Energy Expansion: A Model for the New Generation of Facilities

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond H. Schauer ◽  
Leah K. Richter ◽  
Tom Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Palm Beach County ◽  
Processing Facility

Created in 1978, the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (Authority) has developed an “award winning” solid waste management system that includes franchised solid waste collections and the following facilities to service the residents and businesses in Palm Beach County, Florida: • North County Resource Recovery Facility (NCRRF); • Residential and Commercial Recovered Materials Processing Facility; • Five Transfer Stations; • Class I Landfill; • Class III Landfill; • Biosolids Pelletization Facility; • Ferrous Processing Facility; • Woody Waste Recycling Facility; • Composting Facility; and • Household Hazardous Waste Facility. The Authority has proactively planned and implemented its current integrated solid waste management program to ensure disposal capacity through 2021. However, even in consideration of the current economic climate, the Authority anticipates continued population growth and associated new development patterns that will significantly increase demands on its solid waste system, requiring it to reevaluate and update its planning to accommodate future growth. The NCRRF, the Authority’s refuse derived fuel waste-to-energy facility, has performed very well since its start up in 1989 processing over 13 million tons of MSW, saving valuable landfill space and efficiently producing clean renewable energy. As the NCRRF has reached the end of its first 20 year operating term, it became necessary to complete a comprehensive refurbishment to ensure its continued reliable service for a second 20 year term and beyond providing for continued disposal capacity and energy production for the Authority’s customers. Separately, the Authority also recognized that the refurbishment alone will not provide any additional disposal capacity for the County. The County’s anticipated growth necessitated that the Authority evaluate several options for long-term processing and disposal capacity, resulting in a decision to expand its WTE capacity with a new mass burn facility, the first facility of its kind to be constructed in Florida in more than a decade, reaffirming its commitment to waste-to-energy. The planned 3,000 TPD expansion will provide a total disposal capacity of 5,000 TPD generating approximately 150MW of renewable energy. The decision to proceed with the expansion was approved by the Authority’s Board in October 2008. The Authority, with its Consulting Engineer, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., has since made significant progress in the facility’s implementation including the completion of the preliminary design, submittal of environmental permit applications, ongoing procurement of a full service vendor, issuance of revenue bonds for project financing, and commencing extensive public outreach. This paper will focus on the development of the new mass burn facility and an update of the status of activities conducted to date including, permitting, financing, vendor procurement, design, and public outreach, as well as will highlight several innovative design, procurement, permitting, and financing features of this landmark project for the Authority, such as: • Utilization of SCR technology for control of NOx emission; • Incorporation of rainwater harvesting and water reuse; • Utilization of iterative procurement process designed to obtain vendor input in a competitive environment; and • Financing approach designed to preserve alternative minimum tax benefits.

Recommitting to a Long Term Waste to Energy Future Through a Comprehensive Refurbishment Program

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond H. Schauer ◽  
Joseph Krupa
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Management System ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Resource Recovery ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Palm Beach County ◽  
Integrated Solid Waste Management ◽  
Processing Facility ◽  
Solid Waste Management System

Created in 1978, the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (Authority) has developed an “award winning” solid waste management system that includes franchised solid waste collections and the following facilities to service the residents and businesses in Palm Beach County, Florida: • North County Resource Recovery Facility (NCRRF); • Residential and Commercial Recovered Materials Processing Facility; • Five Transfer Stations; • Class I Landfill; • Class III Landfill; • Biosolids Pelletization Facility; • Ferrous Processing Facility; • Woody Waste Recycling Facility; • Composting Facility; and • Household Hazardous Waste Facility. The Authority has proactively planned and implemented its current integrated solid waste management program to ensure disposal capacity through 2021. However, like many communities, the Authority anticipates continued population growth and associated new development patterns that will significantly increase demands on its solid waste system, requiring it to reevaluate and update its planning to accommodate future growth. The NCRRF, the Authority’s refuse derived fuel waste-to-energy facility, has performed very well since its start up in 1989 processing over 13 million tons of MSW, saving valuable landfill space and efficiently producing clean, renewable energy. As the NCRRF approached the end of its first 20 year operating term, it became necessary to complete a comprehensive refurbishment to ensure its continued reliable service for a second 20 year term and beyond providing for continued disposal capacity and energy production for the Authority’s customers. The Authority renegotiated and extended its operating agreement with the Palm Beach Resource Recovery Corporation (PBRRC), a Babcock & Wilcox Company, for an additional 20-year term. The Authority selected BE&K Construction Company (BE&K) and entered into an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction contract (EPC Contract) to perform the refurbishment. The Authority, with assistance from its Consulting Engineer, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., developed the minimum technical requirements and negotiated the EPC Contract with BE&K. The design and procurement efforts were completed in early 2009 and on-site construction refurbishment activities commenced in November 2009. The refurbishment has a total estimated cost of $205 million. The refurbishment work is sequenced with the intent that one boiler train will remain operational to reduce the impact to the Authority’s landfill and maximize electrical production and revenues during the refurbishment period. This presentation will focus on the improvements to operations as a result of the refurbishment and its positive effects on the Authority’s integrated solid waste management system.

Palm Beach County WTE Expansion Model

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Henderson ◽  
Leah K. Richter
Keyword(s):  
Solid Waste ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Outreach Program ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Palm Beach County ◽  
Integrated Solid Waste Management ◽  
Processing Facility ◽  
Composting Facility ◽  
Facility Expansion

Palm Beach County (Florida) Solid Waste Authority built an integrated solid waste management system in the 1980s and 1990s around an 1,800 tpd Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) Waste-to-Energy (WTE) facility. The system included a network of five regional transfer stations, Subtitle D sanitary landfill, recovered materials processing facility, composting facility, metals processing facility and household hazardous waste collection program. The WTE, which became operational in 1989, was built with two 900 tpd RDF combustion units. Space was provided for the addition of a third combustion unit, a second turbine-generator and an extra flue was installed in the facility’s stack. By 2004, the WTE was fifteen years old. It had been running at over 125% availability and well above its nominal capacity for almost a decade. Landfill capacity was being consumed at a rate which would see it filled in less than 20 years. The County had been hit with repeated hurricanes in recent years and the County’s population was continuing to grow making landfill capacity projections far from certain. The Authority began an assessment of its long term capacity options which included renovation of its existing WTE facility, expansion of that facility, development of a new WTE facility, development of a new Subtitle D Landfill and several out-of-county options. This paper will focus on the results of this assessment with emphasis on the current efforts to develop a new Mass Burn WTE facility with a capacity of 3,000 tpd and a commercial operations date of 2015. It will be the largest new WTE built in North America in more than 20 years. The choice of Mass Burn technology, facility and combustion module sizing, air pollution control technology, facility site selection, environmental permitting, public outreach program, project financing and procurement and contracting approach will be discussed.

The Evolution of Non-Ferrous Recovery at the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County’s North County Resource Recovery Facility

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Schauer ◽  
James P. Riley
Keyword(s):  
Solid Waste ◽  
Resource Recovery ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Palm Beach County ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
The North ◽  
Energy Facility ◽  
Refuse Derived Fuel ◽  
Wholly Owned Subsidiary

The North County Resource Recovery Facility is a 2,000 tpd refuse derived fuel (RDF) Waste to Energy facility located in West Palm Beach, FL. Palm Beach Resource Recovery Corporation (PBRRC), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W), operates and maintains the facility under a long-term operation and maintenance (O&M) agreement with the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County.

Keeping Up With Growth by Recommitting to a Long-Term Waste-to-Energy Future

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond H. Schauer
Keyword(s):  
Third Party ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
Palm Beach County ◽  
The North ◽  
Institutional Knowledge ◽  
Energy Facility ◽  
Refuse Derived Fuel ◽  
Essential Components

The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (Authority) has owned the North County Resources Recovery Facility (NCRRF) since 1989, producing clean, economical and renewable energy from refuse derived fuel while preserving precious landfill space. As with any facility as it approaches the end of its first 20-year operating term, the Authority found it necessary to initiate a comprehensive refurbishment to ensure its continued effective operations. The operating agreement between the Authority and the Palm Beach Resource Recovery Corporation (PBRRC), a subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox (B&W), is set to expire concurrently with the end of the this 20-year term. The Authority acknowledged that PBRRC has unparalleled institutional knowledge of the NCRRF and, as such, took the opportunity to renegotiate its operating agreement with PBRRC for an additional 20-year term. The Authority was also able to build into the new operating agreement conditions for PBRRC to provide assistance to a third party design-builder performing the refurbishment. Additionally, understanding that B&W produced many of the key combustion unit components of the original NCRRF construction, the Authority worked into the new agreement terms for B&W to provide several essential components for the refurbishment that will be installed by the design-builder. When the refurbishment is completed in 2011, the Authority will still only have disposal capacity through 2021 with its existing landfill. To be able to keep up with rapid growth in Palm Beach County, the Authority has initiated the due diligence phase for the development of a new mass burn waste-to-energy facility and landfill that will expand the disposal capacity of the Authority’s system for more than 100 years.

Collier County, Florida: Consideration of Gasification as a Long-Term Waste Management Solution

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Schwarz ◽  
Daniel E. Dietch
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Collier County ◽  
Wide Range

Collier County, Florida (“County”) is in the midst of developing an integrated waste management program. Unlike many counties, Collier County owns a landfill with sufficient long-term landfill capacity to last another 15 years. However, due to the Board of County Commissioner’s (“Board”) desire to have a 50-year solution for solid waste, the County has set upon a course to divert waste from the landfill to the maximum extent possible. In doing so, the County solicited long-term waste management solutions from private companies capable of processing the majority of the municipal solid waste generated in the County. Over the past two years, the County has considered several of these alternatives ranging from MSW composting to mass-burn waste-to-energy; however, based on an evaluation of a wide range of impacts, gasification was selected as the preferred alternative. With this focus, the County issued a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) in November 2001 for a design, build, own, operate, and finance gasification project. The County received three proposals in April 2002 in response to the RFP. To date, the County has completed the proposal evaluation process and has ranked the top two responsive firms: Interstate Waste Technologies (“IWT”) and Brightstar Environmental (Florida), LLC (“Brightstar”) based on experience, technical approach, business arrangement, and cost. If implemented, this project will be the only commercial gasification project operating in the United States. This paper will provide insight into various stages of the project, from development through to the current status of the project, as well as the strategic policy, financial, and technical considerations that make this opportunity a good fit for the County. An emphasis will also be placed on comparing and contrasting the benefits and drawbacks of each technology, such as processing methodology, cost, redundancy, and scalability.

Behind the Scenes: Sneak Peak at Procurement of Innovative Recycling and Waste-to-Fuel Conversion System Expected to Yield 80% Diversion

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Brickner
Keyword(s):  
Solid Waste ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Solid Waste Disposal ◽  
New Construction ◽  
Current Mass

New Hanover County, NC, hired Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) to help prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the management and long-term operations of the County’s solid waste disposal facilities, which include a secure landfill with more than 40 years of remaining life, a 20+ year old waste-to-energy (WTE) plant, and seven recycling drop-off sites receiving over 200,000 tons per year. The RFP requested a single-service provider to provide all of the services currently being undertaken by the County under a single contract going forward. During the course of the procurement, GBB’s Project Manager made three presentations to the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners (County Board), advancing the RFP process from eight vendor proposals, to interviews of five firms and performing a technical and economic review of each, to short-listing two firms, to the final recommendation of going forward with high-tech start-up R3 Environmental LLC (R3). In September 2010, the County Board signed a landmark contract with R3 for the management of the County’s waste system that was intended to position the County as a world leader in innovative disposal, according to County officials. Under the agreement, R3 was to implement a modern Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) processing facility pulling out recyclables and making a low-ash, high-BTU Refused-Derived Fuel (RDF) biomass product, refurbishing the current mass-burn WTE facility into an RDF biomass-fired system, and implementing a new construction waste and demolition debris recycling (C&D) processing system. The new solid waste sorting facility, with advanced machinery, dubbed a “Smart MRF,” was expected to be in operation in two years, extracting recyclables and converting the organic waste stream into fuel. R3 guaranteed to divert over 80% of the incoming solid waste from the landfill. This paper provides a unique behind-the-scenes look at the procurement process used to select this “innovative technology proposal” from R3 as it pertained to recycling potential, carbon credits and renewable energy credits, and significant long-term cost benefits to the County. It will also provide a review of the vendor evaluation process that led to this landmark contract, from the RFP preparation, proposals evaluation, technical/economic reviews, short-listing, recommendations, and technical contract negotiation.

There Is Light at the End of the Tunnel! Key Ingredients to a Successful End of Term Action Plan

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn Worster ◽  
Alan Cohen ◽  
Susan Raila
Keyword(s):  
Solid Waste ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
North East ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Status ◽  
Privately Owned

These are critical times for customers, operators, and owners of waste-to-energy technologies in the US. Many of the existing long term contracts entered into during the early to mid 80’s are at or nearing their end. Communities are facing the need to decide what to do with that portion of their waste stream remaining after they reduce, reuse, and recycle. This presentation addresses the status of several waste-to-energy facilities (e.g. North East Solid Waste Committee (NESWC), Bridgeport, Pinellas, Hempstead) projects that have reached, or are nearing, the end of their initial terms, comparing and contrasting the issues between publicly and privately owned facilities. The presentation draws on the authors’ direct involvement in these projects — in some cases from the project’s inception to the present. Drawing on their collective seventy+ years of experience in the solid waste industry representing public sector clients, Dr. Cohen, Ms. Raila and Mr. Worster will present an overview of the factors affecting existing contracts reaching end of term, key elements to be considered by participants in identifying what their options are, typical terms and conditions and key ingredients of and how to put in place an effective action plan.

A Review : Sustainability from Waste

2019 ◽  
pp. 134-155
Author(s):  
Kriti Jain ◽  
Chirag Shah
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Waste Dumps ◽  
Waste Segregation ◽  
Treatment And Disposal ◽  
Engineered Landfill

The increasing volume and complexity of waste associated with the modern economy as due to the ranging population, is posing a serious risk to ecosystems and human health. Every year, an estimated 11.2 billion tonnes of solid waste is collected worldwide and decay of the organic proportion of solid waste is contributing about 5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP). Poor waste management - ranging from non-existing collection systems to ineffective disposal causes air pollution, water and soil contamination. Open and unsanitary landfills contribute to contamination of drinking water and can cause infection and transmit diseases. The dispersal of debris pollutes ecosystems and dangerous substances from waste or garbage puts a strain on the health of urban dwellers and the environment. India, being second most populated country of the world that too with the lesser land area comparatively, faces major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, treatment and disposal. Population explosion, coupled with improved life style of people, results in increased generation of solid wastes in urban as well as rural areas of the country. The challenges and barriers are significant, but so are the opportunities. A priority is to move from reliance on waste dumps that offer no environmental protection, to waste management systems that retain useful resources within the economy [2]. Waste segregation at source and use of specialized waste processing facilities to separate recyclable materials has a key role. Disposal of residual waste after extraction of material resources needs engineered landfill sites and/or investment in waste-to-energy facilities. This study focusses on the minimization of the waste and gives the brief about the various initiations for proper waste management system. Hence moving towards the alternatives is the way to deal with these basic problems. This paper outlines various advances in the area of waste management. It focuses on current practices related to waste management initiatives taken by India. The purpose of this article put a light on various initiatives in the country and locates the scope for improvement in the management of waste which will also clean up the unemployment.

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