Sierra Energy

Energy’s Waste: Can biomass gain traction in California’s regulatory quagmire?

Excerpt from Comstock’s Magazine, August 18, 2010

“And he’s not the only Capital Region biomass company looking mostly overseas. Davis-based Sierra Energy Corp. is also working on technology at McClellan that turns waste into energy using gasification, not traditional combustion. Sierra Energy could license the technology to more than a dozen power producers worldwide next year, according to Michael Hart, president and CEO. The key feedstock for Hart is municipal trash.

Every ton of waste that is gasified saves the world from more than 22 tons of greenhouse gases that would be produced if the waste were placed in a landfill, according to Hart. “Bear in mind that biomass is an immense source of material,” he says. “You’ve got municipal solid waste, which is the largest source of feedstock in California. Los Angeles County alone puts 20,000 tons of solid waste into a hole in the ground each day. It dwarfs the amount of emissions they are putting into the atmosphere from cars.””

Read full article here:  http://www.comstocksmag.com/Articles/0810_F_Energys-Waste.aspx

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By Michael Hart
May 17, 2010

Landfills are a bad idea.

This may not be a news flash, however there seems to be an endless supply of subject matter experts on the topic that are all too willing to point to “solutions” with misleading or inaccurate explanations.

Landfills are bad because each ton of trash placed in a landfill emits two tons of greenhouse gas: one ton of CO₂ and another ton of methane, which is 23 times more destructive to the ozone layer than CO₂. The net effect is that every ton of waste buried in a landfill puts 24 tons of CO₂ or its equivalent (CO₂e) into the atmosphere.

Consider the fact that the United States produces 240 million tons of municipal solid waste each year. Despite efforts to reduce the amount of waste through recycling and other means, two-thirds of that waste still ends up in landfills, emitting toxic methane levels equating to 160 million tons per year or 3.8 billion tons of CO₂e annually in the US. This is equal to the emission of all of the world’s 600,000,000 vehicles on the road today. Clearly, one of the “Holy Grails” of the cleantech movement is a cost-effective means of cleanly and profitably recycling 100 percent of this waste.

Read full article here

http://cleantech.com/news/5784/emptying-landfills-and-debunking-wa

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By Mike Hart
Special to The Bee
Published: Jan. 3, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3E

Being mayor of San Francisco often means you get your opinions published even when you are off-base. The recent commentary by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, co-authored by Teamster Robert Morales, is a prime example.

While Newsom correctly notes that landfills are bad, he misstates why. It’s not because they prevent recycling; it’s because every ton of landfilled trash emits 23 tons of CO2 or its equivalent. The International Panel on Climate Change found that few landfills capture these gases, with the best landfills capturing only 20 percent. We need to convert these gases to energy, not release them into the atmosphere.

Contrary to Newsom’s assertion, every ton of landfilled waste does not create 71 tons of “upstream” waste. The mayor lifted his assertion from a Sierra Club zero-waste paper citing a 1992 U.S. Office of Technology Assessment background paper.

But Newsom and the Sierra Club failed to notice that the paper does not support the claim or deal with municipal waste. Reducing waste is laudable; misleading the public is not.

Newsom inexcusably labels a wide array of thermal technologies as “really just glorified incineration.” But these technologies could not be more different. Whereas incineration creates smoke and ash, gasification can convert waste into new fuels without burning, without emissions and without producing waste.

Newsom claims we can squeeze 34 new jobs out of every 10,000 tons of waste composted. Newsom fails to reveal how much garbage costs will rise to pay those new employees or that composting releases significant greenhouse gases – especially at commercial scales – while doing nothing to solve our energy problems.

Give union workers the choice between being well paid to run gasifiers, a clean source of domestic power that reduce greenhouse gases and eliminate landfill costs, or picking bits of glass and used diapers out of compost destined for some vineyards.

President Barack Obama has recognized the opportunities presented by technologies such as gasification that can cleanly recycle waste while reducing our need for fossil fuels. It’s time for Newsom to put our environment above his desire for union contributions. We need an environmental solution to our energy and waste problems. Gasification, not highly paid composting, provides the answer.

http://www.sacbee.com/325/story/2432465.html

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Sierra Energy CEO Mike Hart was interviewed by Jenny Griffin of “Meet The Planet.”  In this telephone interview, Hart discusses with Griffin the overview of Sierra Energy’s exciting new blast furnace technology, including its benefits and contribution to the clean energy movement.

“Meet the Planet” is an environmental-friendly platform, with the goal to deliver compelling but entertaining content that inspires and motivates people to make positive choices for the planet.  “Meet The Planet” produces a National Radio talk show heard through Business Talk Radio Network, and Lifestyle Talk Radio Network.  For more information on “Meet the Planet,” visit http://www.meettheplanet.org/.

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