NRG will cofire in NY By the end of 2011, New Jersey-based NRG Energy will be generating up to 15 megawatts (MW) from cofiring clean woody biomass at its Dunkirk Generating Station in western New York. The company received a 10year contract from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for the power
and plans to locally source forest and wood processing residue, according to the company. NRG is also planning to use biomass as the primary fuel at its Montville Generating Station in Uncasville, Conn., after repowering one of the facility’s existing units to produce up to 40 MW.
Mass. Legislature says no to initiative The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy has decided not to act on a citizen petition that would limit clean energy development in the state. The measure is too broad and would cut off essential incentives for renewable energy, the committee said. The initiative calls for a mandate that would exclude fa-
cilities producing more than 250 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour from qualifying for the state renewable portfolio standard. That would also eliminate them from qualifying for tax credits crucial for affordable operation. Initiative proponents can still push for inclusion on the November ballot, but they need 11,000 signatures to do it.
Wheelabrator buys Portsmouth RDF plant Wheelabrator Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Waste Management, purchased the Southeastern Public Service Authority’s refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plant in Portsmouth, Va., and adjacent waste-to-energy facility for $150 million. Wheelabrator officially assumed management of the operation, dubbed Wheelabrator Portsmouth, on April 29. The purchase concludes a two-year process aimed at
selling the two plants in order to reduce debt and operating costs and draw on the expertise of a private vendor, according to Wheelabrator. SPSA chose Wheelabrator in November from a pool of four companies. A total of 164 SPSA employees at the facilities will become Wheelabrator employees. Wheelabrator also plans to invest more than $20 million in capital improvements.
PetroAlgae signs MOU to launch technology in Chile Algal technology developer PetroAlgae Inc. reported the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Asesorias e Inversines Quilicura, a major shareholder of Subus Chila S.A., and expects the MOU to enable the development of a micro-crop technology system for the large-scale production of green gasoline, diesel and jet fuel in Chile. By managing light exposure the technology is able to dramatically increase growth
and productivity of indigenous organisms in open-pond bioreactors. The resulting microcrops absorb approximately twice their weight in CO2 and are harvested every few hours to produce a high-quality protein and carbohydrate-rich biomass, according to PetroAlgae. Last year, the company was the recipient of the Sustainable Biofuels Technology Award in the technology supplier category at the World Biofuels Markets.
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