Jefferson Renewable Energy Gets Waste Plant Permit
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has issued a final air permit for a $317-million, energy-from-waste plant in Smith Township. This is the first air permit issued in the United States for such a plant in over a decade, according to Jefferson Renewable Energy, the project developer.
The air permit moves Jefferson Renewable Energy a step closer to building its proposed Mahoning Renewable Energy plant. The facility will produce 66 megawatts of power, enough to power 50,000 homes, and will use construction and demolition debris and pre-processed municipal solid waste, otherwise referred to as "Refuse-Derived Fuel," as its fuel source.
"The air permit approval we received from the Ohio EPA is a major milestone for our project," said President Gregory Benik. "Our approval puts us that much closer to a groundbreaking and reflects our commitment to developing advanced, state-of-the-art plants that meet or exceed environmental safeguards. It also puts Ohio at the forefront in recognizing the need for alternative energy sources."
The plant will rely on Advanced Stoker Boiler System and Control Technology developed by Babcock Power Environmental, Inc.
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Richard Nicholson said that Mahoning Renewable Energy has received soft commitments for debt financing from senior U.S. lenders and that the project is one of several being developed by Jefferson Renewable Energy using a wide range of best available demonstrated technologies for the conversion of biomass and waste materials for energy generation or biofuels production. The company is based in Warwick, R.I.