Plan for converting waste into energy presented by company

County commissioners heard a presentation at their June 5 meeting by F.J. Moore Associates promoting a waste-to-energy plan they say could solve Washington County's trash disposal problem and at the same time provide a new source of electricity for local consumers.

As described by Fred J. Moore III, president of the consulting group that also includes engineers Normand Laberge and Dennis Sanborn, the process, developed by a Canadian company known as EnEco Industries Ltd. and based in Vancouver, B.C., would be a "best fit" to meet local needs.

Moore said he had previously worked with developers of waste management projects in Maine, including incinerator technology, on behalf of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and was involved in searching for landfills to receive the incinerated ash. He said he "quickly rejected that approach, and decided to put up [his] own resources to advance the concept" of waste to energy. His investigation led him to the EnEco system, a form of gasification known as pyrolosis.

The facility he described, estimated to cost $15 million, could process up to 100 tons per day of unsorted municipal solid waste (MSW). It could be located on as few as "two or three acres" and would include a greenhouse, operating with "waste heat" and utilizing composted kitchen and yard waste. The plan also envisions an algae farm with the capacity to raise species of aquatic plants that could be converted to bio-oil or fish feed for the aquaculture industry.

The gasification system, at a relatively low temperature in an oxygen-deprived environment, would permit the recovery of valuable metallic resources in their original form, Moore said. In addition, the steam created would convert heat to electricity using a turbine generator. Moore estimated a production of three megawatts per day could be achieved, with one megawatt to be used by the facility and two megawatts to be sold to local utilities. According to the presenter, the plant could accommodate all of the municipal solid waste from Washington County and up to 20% of additional materials, including tires, sludge and construction demolition debris. The ash that remains at the end of the pyrolitic procedure, estimated at 5%-10% of the volume, would be taken to a secure landfill outside the county or used in the manufacture of concrete.

Moore said he and his partners are seeking a "host community" to serve as the site for the EnEco system. The firm has already approached "city governments" in the county as well as the Passamaquoddy tribal government and the Marion Transfer Station board of directors as possible "hosts," and Moore says interest has been "tremendous." But, he adds, "We view the county as a community," and suggested he would favor a partnership with the Washington County commissioners to "maximize" environmental and economic benefits.

Summarizing the benefits that he said could be derived from the EnEco system in Washington County, Moore listed the creation of 30 to 36 jobs, the production of electric power amounting to about 25% of the current "demand between East Machias and Eastport," and "significant food production" in the associated greenhouse. He noted the system will "divert" heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and other undesirable byproducts.

Following the presentation, commissioners Chris Gardner and John Crowley agreed they wanted to continue discussions with F.J. Moore Associates, further exploring the system they described. Chairman Gardner said, "Even if we could recycle 50 percent of the waste, we still have only two ways to deal with the other 50 percent: burn it or bury it. This would give us a third way. Sometimes you have to look into things that were never done before."

In a later telephone interview, Moore was asked about his firm's relationship with EnEco Industries. He acknowledged his firm has a "contractual relationship" with EnEco, but declined to disclose the terms. Asked if F.J. Moore Associates could be considered a sales agent for EnEco, he replied, "No." He said he has not visited any operating EnEco facility, but has viewed videotapes of the process.

Moore was questioned about an American company, EnEco Inc., that filed for Chapter 11 at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah on January 11, 2008. The company, a developer of a "thermal chip" to convert heat into electricity, listed between $10 and $50 million in assets in its bankruptcy petition. The company's history includes a controversial claim in the early 1990s that their researchers had achieved energy production through cold fusion in laboratory experiments.

Moore said there is "absolutely no relationship whatsoever" between the Utah company and the Canadian company he represents and that no link between the two has ever existed. He stated that he and his associates had conducted "due diligence" to determine that EnEco Industries Ltd. and EnEco Inc. have never had any connection.