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$100M recycling facility and WTE plant planned for Yabucoa

Green Energy Renewable Solutions Inc., a developer and operator of municipal solid waste processing and recycling facilities announced it has entered into a “Letter of Intent” to form a joint venture with Landfill Solutions, LLC of Puerto Rico, to remediate and manage the Yabucoa municipal landfill that has been closed since 2011.

When completed the estimated $100 million project will have a projected capacity to process at least 1,000 tons of waste per day. It will also be the second large-scale green energy project targeting the town mostly known for its agriculture activity.

The remediation plan is designed to bring the landfill up to current operating standards and reopen the landfill for operations while developing recycling and waste conversion facilities, company officials said.

Green Energy and Landfill Solutions, LLC have been collaborating on this project since October 2011, and the signing of the formal agreement will make the two companies equal partners in the newly formed company.

Under the terms of the agreement, the joint venture will provide immediate remediation of the Yabucoa landfill located on 50 acres in Puerto Rico’s southeastern tip.

“We believe this joint venture  is a tremendous opportunity to use our unique landfill diversion and energy conversion strategies to address the immediate needs of Yabucoa and the surrounding communities,” said Joe DuRant, CEO of Green Energy Renewable Solutions, Inc. “It is our belief that this operating facility will demonstrate our ability to dramatically improve the current waste disposal situation on the island of Puerto Rico, where there is currently no operating waste-to-energy plant.”

The initial phase of the project includes slope stabilization, construction of new road access and internal roadways, and leachate, run-off and flood control to bring the landfill site in compliance with regulatory standards of the Solid Waste Authority.

The venture company expects to begin work on the site immediately and estimates that the landfill will reopen within 120 to 180 days.

Following completion of the remediation phase, plans include rapid development of a recycling facility and waste-to-energy conversion plant.

The ultimate goal is to divert all incoming municipal solid waste for separation and processing to capture valuable recycle materials and convert the remainder to energy and fuels.  The company believes the planned operations will reduce the volume impact to landfill by 90 percent or more when fully operational.

“Our agreement is supported by long-term contracts that are expected to provide short-term, stable revenues while we develop recycling and waste-to-energy plant capacity for both fuel and electrical output,” DuRant said. “Long-term power purchase agreements and robust demand for fuels in Puerto Rico make this a very attractive location.”

Additional terms of the agreement provide a 30-year lease of the landfill at no cost to the venture company, which had previously secured long-term municipal solid waste contracts to supply 500 tons of MSW per day to the Yabucoa landfill from four Puerto Rico municipalities.

The estimated output of the recycle and recovery operations include an estimated 200 tons per day of recycle materials (recovered metals, plastics, quality paper and cardboard that can be reused for new product manufacturing), 350 barrels of sweet crude oil equivalent and up to 15 Megawatts of electrical power output.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
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