Dive Brief:
- Montgomery, NY’s Industrial Development Agency recently agreed to a plan to generate up to $270 million in bonds for a planned local biomass plant. The agency voted to form a local development corporation in April to be facilitator of the bonds, which will be sold to investors.
- Recycling company owner Jim Taylor and a representative from Orange Environment Inc. spoke at a recent public hearing on the planned facility. The plant will be built at a site along Neelytown Road, where Taylor has a recycling plant. The agency’s board approved between $235 million and $270 million in tax-exempt bonds for the project.
- Taylor plans to use the facility to turn organic waste into gas that will power turbines which will create electricity. The waste used as fuel for the turbines will come from a daily influx of 100 tons of wood waste, 500 tons of municipal solid waste, and 450 tons of construction waste. The plant will include a 200,000-square-foot facility housing two turbines. Pre-construction site work is done, and one of the turbines already has been delivered.
Dive Insight:
Taylor faced a number of hurdles, including a representative of Orange Environment criticizing the planned biomass facility, saying it is a risky investment and will compete in an already saturated energy market, though the board disagreed and OK’d the bond plan. According to a recent report, biomass is becoming a more popular fuel for energy creation across the globe.
