The plant will recycle household garbage, reducing the environmental impact of local landfills while helping to satisfy demand for low-cost, renewable, transportation fuel.
The project, named Sierra BioFuels, will be owned by Fulcrum BioEnergy. InEnTec’s new subsidiary, InEnTec Energy Solutions, will retain a minority stake in the project.
When it begins operations in early 2010, the Sierra BioFuels plant is expected to produce approximately 10.5 million gallons of ethanol per year, and will process nearly 90,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste that would otherwise have been disposed in landfills.
Fulcrum will design, finance, construct, and operate the plant, which will be located 10 miles east of Reno at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center in Storey County, Nevada. This late-stage development project is expected to cost approximately $120 million and is set to enter into the construction phase by the end of 2008.
The two companies have entered into a 10-year contract where InEnTec will supply, at Fulcrum’s option, up to 4.5 million tons per year of gasification capacity to Fulcrum with its proprietary Plasma Enhanced Melter (PEM) technology.
