Algonquin-Peel Energy From Waste Facility

operational

Opportunity The Regional Municipality of Peel wanted to reduce pressure on their landfill by looking at alternate waste disposal methods. An energy-from-waste incineration facility was seen as the best way to eliminate waste and generate electricity, but the public sector had little experience building and operating such facilities. As a result, they wanted to transfer revenue risk and responsibility for maintenance, environmental compliance and upgrading to the private sector. The Region decided to use an early P3, structured using the Design-Build-Own-Operate model. Innovations The processing facility was financed and built by Algonquin Power at a capital cost of approximately $1.2 million and the Region paid $84 per tonne tipping fee for the first 127,000 tonnes of garbage annually and $80 per tonne after that as well as $8 to $10 per tonne for processing bottom ash. When the 20-year contract ended, Algonquin Power was able to shift to a new business model, incinerating industrial garbage. Results Over the life of the Project Agreement, the Energy from Waste (EFW) facility processed approximately 160,000 tonnes of residential waste annually (500 tonnes per day) from the Region of Peel—the upper-tier municipality serving the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, and the Town of Caledon— and from industrial, commercial and institutional sources. The facility consists of a tipping floor, five two-stage incinerators, an Air Pollution Control System and bottom-ash processing plant. The heat generated from incineration is fed into a heat recovery boiler, which creates steam used to run a turbine and generate electricity. The steam and gas turbines have a combined capacity of 15 megawatts. In 2006 the facility was processing 50 to 60 per cent of total residential waste generated in the Region of Peel and diverting it from the landfill. Electricity produced at the facility provides power for up to 6,000 homes, which reduced the Region’s reliance on natural gas and therefore reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The Region looked at alternative uses for the bottom ash, including asphalt aggregate. It saved approximately $125,000 per year by diverting ash from the landfill. In 2010 the boilers and air pollution control equipment was refurbished to keep the facility state-of-the-art, ensuring 20 more years of reliable operation.  In 2012 when the contract between Algonquin Power and the Region expired, the facility obtained permits to receive municipal, industrial, commercial, and institutional waste from Ontario sources both inside and outside the Greater Toronto Area. In 2014 the facility was purchased by Emerald Energy from Waste Inc. and continues to operate to this day. In continuous operation since 1992, the facility has processed over 2.5 million tonnes of waste to date.

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