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V O L . X X I V N O. X I I I J U N E 2 5 , 2 0 1 8 20 Fiberight site to convert trash to fuel and more B y M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n W hen the Fiberight Corp. waste-to-energy plant goes online in Hampden later this year, it's going to take on an awesome task — converting 80% of the waste it takes in either into renewable energy or recy- cling it. On average, more than half the waste Americans produce goes into landfi lls. It will process 180,000 tons of municipal trash a year from 115 municipalities once it's fully operational. What will come out is clean cellulose, bio-gas, plastics and engi- neered fuel, metals, waste paper and corrugated cardboard. "We're not just bringing stuff in and sorting," Craig Stuart-Paul, CEO of the Catonsville, Md.-based Fiberight, said on a media tour of the under-construction plant in early June. "It all gets processed." The plant cost $70 million, and was fi nanced with a $45 million Finance Authority of Maine tax-exempt bond issuance underwritten by Jefferies LLC and $25 million in private equity, according to Waste360. High-tech process The Hampden plant uses a high-tech process to sort, recycle, reuse and refi ne the waste. The process has been tested in at Fiberight's Virginia prototype plant for several years, but the Hampden facility will be the largest use of the technology, Stuart-Paul says. In simple terms, the process starts when rubbish bags are machine- shredded, the waste goes through a series of screens, and is separated and channeled according to size and type. The organic waste eventually goes into a "pulper" that breaks down the material, forming a biomass and removing contaminants and remaining recycla- bles, like metals. The pulp is converted to fuel in the anaerobic digester. Recycling plans include possible separate processes for textiles, glass and mixed paper. There is also a plan for turning plastic into fuel. "We're starting off by making a solid plastic fuel that replaces coal and coal products for industrial users," says Stuart-Paul. "This product burns cleaner than coal. In the long term we plan to augment this process by the addition of a system that will convert waste plastics into a low-sulphur synthetic oil that burns cleaner than traditional heating oil. Both will help stabilize energy costs for industrial and commercial users in Maine, while also offering a lower emissions product." The plant is on schedule to begin recycling in September. The recycling equipment arrives in early July. The back end, including the anaerobic digester, which has a 600,000-gallon reactor, will start construction in August and running by the end of the year. "The whole idea is to use as much of the waste stream as possible," Stuart-Paul says. Summit Natural Gas of Maine project near goal fi ve years later B y M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n W hen Summit Natural Gas of Maine in February announced it was going to lay more than 46,000 feet of pipe in Sidney, it marked a milestone of sorts for the Augusta-based company. The $340 million project has laid more than 250 miles of pipe up the Kennebec River valley and in the Cumberland-Yarmouth-Falmouth area since it began in 2013. The pipeline includes 192 miles of distribution and 68 miles of transmission underground steel pipes. When it formed as a subsidiary of Colorado-based Summit Utilities, it promised to invest $350 million in pipeline up the Kennebec River Valley in fi ve years. The project at the time it was proposed was the most extensive gas network ever in the state, which is heavily dependent on oil. But the plan hit obstacles. There were issues with subcontractors, competition from Maine Natural Gas, less interest from residents in some communities than it had anticipated when oil prices dropped and fi nes from the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The backbone of the line, as fi rst proposed, runs from Pittston 68 miles north up the Kennebec, as well as the smaller Falmouth-Cumberland-Yarmouth network. The model includes signing on anchor businesses or other large customers, as well as residential users in the communities that approved the line. Summit doesn't release customer numbers, but despite the setbacks, it is operational along the back- bone it fi rst proposed, with a large network of its users in the Augusta-Waterville area. Major customers include the Sappi mill in Skowhegan, the city of Augusta, Backyard Farms in Madison and municipalities along the line. Summit was also part of Waterville's Trafton Road industrial project expansion, which included a new exit on Interstate 95. The Sidney expansion is in partnership with Pike Industries, which is converting its Lyons Road plant from oil to natural gas. "Pike Industries is continuously looking to expand our energy options," says Kevin Folkins, liquid energy manager. "Part of our sustainability strategy is to seek opportunities to optimize our energy use and resources. We are investing in our Sidney plant to reduce the amount of energy required in our production process and are excited to add the ability to use a cleaner fuel." Summit has already committed to bringing pipeline down several residential streets in the town, which is between Augusta and Waterville along the Kennebec. "With the backbone of the system now in the ground, we are focusing on infi ll in our service territories while also partnering with the communities we service on eco- nomic development opportunities," says Lizzy Reinholdt, director of corporate affairs. S O U R C E : Fiberight FIBERIGHT PROCESS PATHWAY F O C U S Summit Natural Gas of Maine as laid 250 miles of pipe in the Kennebec River valley, including in Sidney (pictured), and in Cumberland County. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F S U M M I T N AT U R A L G A S SORTING WASHING WASTE WATER TREATMENT OUTPUTS MSW Recovered fiber Metals Plastics Residues and grit Plastics Biomass Fines and wastewater Glass and grit Biomass Fines Wastewater Material Recycling Facilty (MRF) with pulper Biomass pulp washing wastewater Clean cellulose Bio-gas (plant energy) Paper and OCC Metals Plastics and engineered fuel Residues Fines processing Anaerobic digestion

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