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$92m biomass plant planned for Maricopa, Arizona

The Pinal Power biomass plant would use crop waste and landscaping waste to generate 30MW of electricity

Plans for a $92 million biomass power plant have been unveiled for the Arizona city of Maricopa, about 30 miles south of Phoenix.

Located in an industrial area on the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, next to the existing Pinal Energy Ethanol Plant, the facility would use green waste and energy crops to produce 30 megawatts of electricity – enough to supply around 35,000 homes with renewable power.

The project already has funding in place, and the developer, Pinal Power LLC, hopes to complete permitting by the end of the year, ready for construction to start next year.

A full operational start could be seen in 2013.

Pinal Power is part of Phoenix-based Arbutus Bio-Energy LLC, which is backed by Elemental Energy and Western Bio-Energy, Inc.

Feedstock

The company says its combustion plant will use around 300,000 tonnes of green waste each year as a feedstock.

This would include mainly landscaping and agricultural waste, it said, with its secondary feedstock being energy crops from local farms including Sorghum crops currently growing in the Ak-Chin Indian Community as well as at Tohono O’Odham Farms.

The Pinal biomass facility will not be taking in any garbage, sewage waste or treated wood, but its developers do intend to accept green waste from local residents – allowing them to avoid the tipping fees seen when taking the material to landfills.

Jobs

The developers of the project believe it could create 120 construction jobs in 2011 and 2012, then 100 jobs operating and supplying the plant once complete.

Bob Buckingham, the leader of the project’s development team, Western Bio-Energy, Inc, explained: “Maricopa’s central location is perfect for transportation logistics, there was ample land available for our needs, and co-locating with Pinal Energy Ethanol Plant to create a ‘Renewable Energy Zone’ made it a home run.”

The city’s mayor, Anthony Smith, described the project as a “very exciting announcement” for Maricopa.

Mr Smith said: “This type of development can lead the way for other industries to consider Maricopa for their operations. The location of this site is ideal for additional industrial developments.”