New Hanover County Commissioners Start Negotiations for Trash Incinerator Refurbishing

In 1984, to reduce the volume of Solid Waste destined for the County Landfill, New Hanover County, NC, started operating its waste-to-energy facility, initially called WASTEC and now called the Sustainable Energy Facility (SEF), which utilizes a mass-burn technology that generates steam for electrical production.

Prior to the lay-up and mothballing of the SEF in April 2011, the 26-year-old facility employed 45 County personnel to operate and maintain three (3) boilers, two (2) generators, and state-of-the-art pollution control equipment. When initially built, two 100 ton-per-day units came online in 1984, and the additional 300 ton-per-day unit became operational in 1991. The boilers produce superheated steam at 450 pounds per square inch (psi) at the header to turn two (2) turbine generators. The generators have a combined gross capacity of 10.5 Megawatts (Mw). SEF powers itself before sending electricity into the grid. The interconnection equipment can receive a maximum of 10,000 KVA to the grid.

Ash from the SEF has been historically used as daily cover for the nearby County Landfill. A local company, Southern Metals Recycling, removed the ferrous metal from the ash on the working face of the Landfill for eventual recycling. Wastewater from the SEF was either reused on-site or treated on-site and discharged into the Northeast Cape Fear River according to an NPDES permit.

In contrast to the County Landfill, the SEF is permitted to receive out-of-County waste. In Fiscal Year 2010/11, SEF received 1,707 tons of "special waste" at a higher tipping fee than the $59 per ton that is currently charged to in-County customers.

In July 2011, New Hanover County, NC, hired GBB to help with the procurement process to select a thirty-party contractor to assume responsibility for the capital improvements needed at the County's SEF, and then operate the facility under a 20-year service contract.

GBB was the lead consultant in assisting in the preparation of the initial Request for Qualifications (RFQ) document, evaluation of qualification responses, and short-listing of qualified contractors based on the parameters of the RFQ. GBB then prepared the Request for Proposal (RFP) that was issued to Wheelabrator and Covanta, the two qualified contractors short-listed as part of the RFQ process. Each qualified contractor was asked to submit proposals, which were received on March 30, 2012, for the finance, design, improvement, retrofitting, construction and testing of the current three-line 500 TPD SEF and, after acceptance testing, operate and maintain the SEF for at least 20 years. Both firms were to provide the capital for the retrofit and upgrades associated with this project. However, for comparison purposes and review, the County also kept open the option to consider public financing of the retrofit and upgrade activities of the SEF.

GBB provided key strategic assistance to the County in the review and selection process, and on June 4, 2012, County Commissioners unanimously decided to negotiate a contract with Covanta to renovate and operate the SEF. GBB is now assisting with the negotiation process. It is estimated that the capital cost to renovate the SEF is approximately $27 million, and it will take about 15 months to complete. Pending final negotiations, tipping fees are estimated to go up to $85-90 per ton, from the current $59 per ton today as a result of the renovations and the long-term operations costs.

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Prince William County, VA, in the Process of Creating Renewable Energy Park

Prince William County, VA, located on the Potomac River and part of the Washington Metro Area, issued in late June a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the provision of a municipal solid waste conversion demonstration project. The project will be part of the new landfill Eco-Park and the Prince William Renewable Energy Park (PWREP), which is in the process of being created to take advantage of emerging renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind, landfill gas recovery and solid waste conversion.

To further the PWREP concept, the County is seeking to host a demonstration project of an innovative municipal solid waste conversion technology. The purpose of the RFP is to identify qualified technology companies that desire to design, build, finance, own and operate the demonstration plant. The County is looking for technologies that are on the verge of commercialization and that need to be proven at throughputs of 50 to 200 tons per day (TPD) on a continuous basis. Eligible technologies include pyrolysis, gasification, anaerobic digestion, plasma torch or other conversion method producing a fuel or energy product, such as electricity, syngas, synfuel, steam, useable heat and/or other commercial energy outputs. Preference will be given to technologies whose primary output is not electricity. Traditional incineration with waste heat recovery technologies, of either MSW or refuse-derived fuel, such as stoker-fired, waterwall, fluidized bed or modular incineration will not be considered. GBB, as the County consultant, is assisting with the procurement process and with the development of the PWREP.

>> Download the RFP

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Madera County, CA, Selects GBB for Solid Waste System Review and Procurement

Madera County, CA, with a population of about 151,000, is located in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada, approximately 30 miles north of Fresno. The County spans approximately 2,200 square miles and includes the Cities of Madera and Chowchilla as well as the southern portion of Yosemite National Park.

In April 2012, after deciding to terminate its contracts for solid waste collection in the unincorporated areas below an elevation of 1,000 feet and operations of the Fairmead Landfill, Mammoth Materials Recovery Facility, household hazardous waste facility, and North Fork Transfer Station, the County selected GBB to assist in the fast-tracked strategic plan development and procurement process for a new contractor in order to ensure a cost-effective operation.

"We've been impressed with GBB's quick grasp and understanding of the challenges we face, the suggestions provided, and the approach they recommended. They have a combination of national expertise and understanding of the solid waste management landscape in California that will benefit us, we believe. Right off the bat, we felt that they could come out of the gate running and provide valuable assistance."

-- Eric Fleming
County Administrative Officer

GBB has completed the initial tasks of the project including data collection and operations reviews. GBB also conducted a strategic evaluation of the County's operations and presented our findings to the Board of Supervisors. Working with the County, GBB is currently developing procurement documents for the County's collection franchise and facility operations.

>> View the RFP that was issued in late June

>> View Press Release

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