In the rapidly expanding sphere of influence exerted by alternative energy, certain players have traditionally received a disproportionate share of the spotlight. A quick Google search for “alternative energy sources” turns up the results one might expect: high-profile energy sources like solar, wind, hydroelectric, and nuclear fusion are at the top of the list. But another technology that is both environmentally friendly and economically viable is plasma gasification.
Plasma gasification involves heating waste products and other materials to extremely high temperatures using a constant flow of electricity. According to TopBits.com, this “maintains a field of extremely intense energy powerful enough to disintegrate the shredded garbage into its component elements. The byproducts are a glass-like substance used as raw materials for high-strength asphalt or household tiles and ‘syngas,’” a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide that can be converted into hydrogen, natural gas, ethanol, or other fuels.
Alter NRG (TSX: NRG; OTCQX: ANRGF), a Canada-based provider of clean alternative energy, is one of the key players in the market for plasma gasification technology and is focused on its large-scale commercialization. It operates primarily through a subsidiary, Westinghouse Plasma Corp, an industry leader in plasma gasification technology since 2002. Westinghouse, acquired by Alter NRG in 2007, provides clean and renewable energy solutions from municipal solid waste (MSW) and biomass and converts it into syngas, electricity, or ethanol.
As of the most recent quarter (1QFY10), non-food biomass converted into clean, pressurized syngas is now flowing from Westinghouse’s plasma gasification plant in Madison, Penn., which provides syngas to an adjacent semi-commercial ethanol conversion facility operated by Coskata, Inc. Westinghouse has also entered into agreements to provide an estimated $50 million in engineering services and equipment for Coskata’s first (fully) commercial ethanol facility, Project Flagship.
In its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, Alter NRG announced that it has 20 projects worldwide that are in the engineering phase of development, with a total sales pipeline of over $500 million upon successful development. According to the Company, a total of 45 proposed projects are in progress globally using Westinghouse plasma technology.
Plasma gasification of municipal solid waste is only beginning to gain recognition as a viable, large-scale energy source primarily because until recently, despite its benefits to the environment, it was less expensive to pay the “tipping fees” and other costs to dump waste in landfills than to process it using plasma gasification. As the technology has become more cost-efficient and landfill space has become scarcer, though, gasification has achieved what might be referred to as “landfill parity,” and in many areas it has become the more economical of the two alternatives. As the public begins to appreciate the growing economic as well as environmental benefits of this revolutionary technology, companies like Alter NRG will be the first to benefit from changes in the way we think about waste management, energy generation, and environmental stewardship.
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