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City hosts another alternative energy company
 New
Bedford, MA — Ze-gen, a Boston-based alternative energy
company, is constructing a “proof of concept” facility
in New Bedford to advance its technology by testing the
conversion of waste-to-energy. Ze-gen’s technology, if
proved successful, will become the most environmentally
friendly and energy efficient method of handling solid
waste in existence today.
The Ze-gen technology relies on gasification – the
conversion of a solid to gas, through a chemical
process. The project will focus on converting
construction and demolish (C&D) solid waste to gas
during its trial in New Bedford. At this stage, the
company is testing the conversion, of synthetic natural
gas as a power source, but no power will be generated.
The gas will be burned off, leaving no emissions. With
positive test results, the company hopes to advance the
technology further to repurpose gas emitted from C&D and
municipal solid waste (MSW) in landfills to electricity
in a cleaner, more efficient way.
“If the proof of concept delivers expected results, the
full scale project will create 150 jobs,” said Mayor
Scott W. Lang.
Each year, in the United States alone, we create and
then landfill over
300 million tons of C&D, MSW, and related waste streams.
Landfills now represent the largest manmade source of
methane gas emissions, and account for roughly 8% of
global warming potential greenhouse gases.
Cities and towns have always been burdened by the amount
of waste they generate. As of yet, communities have not
developed a clever, economically beneficial way to
dispose of their garbage. The traditional approach has
been to send this trash to a landfill or an incineration
facility; but due to the pollutants landfills and
incinerators generate, both to the air and to the
ground, there is a great need for new technology that
minimizes the impact waste has on the environment. The
traditional approaches have also failed to tap into
waste’s vast energy potential.
“We see commercial potential in Ze-gen's developing
technology. We are excited to be working closely with
Ze-gen to ensure the company's success, as their success
will continue to drive the development of a thriving
economy in New Bedford,” remarked Matthew A. Morrissey,
executive director of the New Bedford Economic
Development Council.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection’s Solid Waste and Air Departments issued
conditional permits to Ze-gen for the construction the
testing facility at the New Bedford Waste Services (NBWS)
site on Shawmut Avenue. The concept facility, located in
space rented from ABC Disposal near the NBWS, will be
operational for a year beginning in May 2007.
Ze-gen was founded two years ago to develop a better
solution to municipalities’ waste problems. Ze-gen is
advancing technology that converts mundane waste streams
into synthetic natural gas, which is used as fuel for an
on-site combined cycle generator to provide power for
the surrounding community. Waste gasification is a
complete solution to solid waste problems, as the
process produces only low-grade metal and inert
silica-based material as byproducts
Ze-gen President, Bill Davis, explained how the company
chose New Bedford. “It was a partnership formed through
the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection. They indicated that ABC Disposal/New Bedford
Waste Services was doing ‘some innovative and thoughtful
work relating to recycling’ and suggested that we should
partner up.”
“The New Bedford Economic Council has been involved in
our company's progress thus far and it is providing us
with the assistance we need to become commercially
successful in New Bedford,” Bill Davis said.
Upon a successful proof of concept facility Ze-gen hopes
to build the first full-scale facility in the city as
well. New Bedford provides an ideal location for this
demonstration facility and the city is very supportive
of the company’s efforts. The development of Ze-gen’s
technology in New Bedford helps to define the city as
Massachusetts’ leader in the renewable energy sector.
Developing a strong renewable energy sector in New
Bedford is greatly beneficial to the city, as it leads
to real job creation that can be utilized by the
existing New Bedford job force. The construction and
operation of Ze-gen's first full-scale facility, which
will gasify 500 tons of waste per day and generate 30
megawatts of renewable energy to New Bedford, requires a
significant workforce that the city is well-positioned
to offer.
In addition to the very real job creation potential, the
company’s technology is beneficial in that it reduces
New Bedford’s dependence on landfills, an environmental
hazard, while reducing the city’s waste. Reliable,
renewable energy is generated in the process. Ze-gen’s
facilities rely only on fees charged for taking the
waste and for the sale of electricity for their
profitability; no subsidies are needed to produce
favorable economics on the facilities.
Visit www.ze-gen.com
for more information about the company.
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