Sludge Watch ==> New England Organics - get $40K waste-to-energy grant for sludge

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

New England Organics - the sludge compost folks - are now looking into
making their waste stream into energy instead of soil ammendment.  The lack
of market for sludge composts, the long distance trucking costs (lots goes
to Florida on orange groves), and rising energy prices make energy from
sludge increasingly attractive ... and sludge as soil 'fertilizer' less and
less attractive.

Of course...if they just use the leftover sludge 'biosolids' left over after 
digestion they will just be higher in heavy metals than ever.

In general (since we don't have life cycle specifics on this project) an 
energy solution to sludge mangement is  more Kyoto global warming friendly 
in three ways

!.  air pollution emissions from the sludge are harnessed and used for
energy production instead of being emitted into the atmosphere at the
composting site.

2, the energy from the sludge replaces
energy from coal or oil or natural gas.

3.  The truck use  and truck emissions  are reduced
......................................



Released 11/20/07

New England Organics, Division of Casella, Awarded $40,000 Renewable Energy
Trust Grant

Boston - Sen. Richard T. Moore, (D-Uxbridge) is pleased to report that New
England Organics' Southbridge facility, a division of Casella Waste Systems,
has been awarded a $40,000 Feasibility Grant from the Massachusetts
Technology Collaborative's (MTC) Renewable Energy Trust (the Trust). The
grant is one of many offered by MTC as part of their Large Onsite Renewables
Initiative to expand the production and use of renewable energy technologies
in Massachusetts.

'It is always welcome news when businesses within the district are provided
funding which may lead to expansion and job creation and even more so, when
their mission makes for a cleaner and greener environment,' said Sen. Moore.

Casella's New England Organics (NEO) division is the first company in the
region dedicated to the recycling of organic residuals providing removal,
transportation, recycling, processing, and marketing of organic resources
such as short paper fiber, ash, wood wastes, biosolids and compost. NEO will
use the grant to conduct a feasibility study to assess a proposed 1000 kW
anaerobic digestion CHP facility at their parent company?s land site in
Southbridge.

'We have a unique opportunity at Casella's environmental complex in
Southbridge to put our organic wastes to work. Creating energy from food
waste, wastewater biosolids and grease trap wastes will give new life to
resources that are often otherwise considered 'dead-end' said Jay Kilbourn
the Project Manager for New England Organics. 'The opportunity to explore
the production of renewable energy from waste is not only environmentally
important, but represents economic opportunities ranging from local business
development to national energy independence.'

The process of anaerobic digestion, long in use by the nation's dairy
farmers, converts manures and other organic wastes into high-energy methane
gas and a valuable fertilizer side stream. Modern technology innovations
enable efficient collection and processing of organic feedstock in enclosed
buildings which are safe and protect the public health.

MTC is the state's development agency for renewable energy and the
innovation economy, which is responsible for one-quarter of all jobs in the
state. MTC is also the administrator of the Trust, which pioneers and
promotes clean energy technologies and strives to make the Commonwealth
greener. The Trust works toward this goal by providing financial assistance
to individuals and businesses for solar panels and wind turbines at their
homes and facilities, working with communities to incorporate green design
into schools, and helping emerging clean energy businesses flourish in the
Commonwealth.

For more information on MTC and the Trust, go to www.mtpc.org