Fulcrum Bioenergy to build MSW-to-ethanol plant

Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. announced that it is advancing next-generation ethanol production with its plans to build one of the first commercial-scale production facilities for converting municipal solid waste to ethanol. The plant will process municipal solid waste, creating a low-cost, reliable and environmentally-clean renewable transportation fuel.

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 to process nearly 90,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste that would otherwise have been disposed of in landfills. Fulcrum BioEnergy will design, finance, construct, own and operate the plant, which will be located in Storey County, Nevada. This late-stage development project is expected to cost approximately $120 million.

The Sierra BioFuels plant is the first of several projects that Fulcrum is currently developing across the country. The plant will utilize gasification technology licensed from Integrated Environmental Technologies and a licensed proprietary catalytic technology for converting synthesis gas to ethanol jointly developed by Nipawin Biomass Ethanol, New Generation Co-operative Ltd., and Saskatchewan Research Council.

Fulcrum BioEnergy is collaborating with waste hauling and disposal companies around the country to revolutionize the disposal of solid waste. Because Fulcrum converts post-recycled organic waste, it adds another layer of recovery and recycling to conventional processes. Fulcrum’s facilities therefore do not compete or interfere with communities’ established recycling programs.