San Luis Obispo (USA): First Kompogas® Plant in the US to be Built in San Luis Obispo, CA

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San Luis Obispo (USA): First Kompogas® Plant in the US to be Built in San Luis Obispo, CA

On March 23, 2017, Japan Bank for International Cooperation as the main financer signed the financing agreement for the first Kompogas® project in the US. The dry anaerobic digestion plant in San Luis Obispo County, California, marks the first DBFOO project for Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI).
Financing secured
The signing of the financing agreement between Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the operating company Kompogas SLO LLC on March 23, 2017 gave the official green light to the construction of the first Kompogas® plant in the US. The project will be realized in close collaboration between HZI USA, HZI Zurich, and the parent company Hitachi Zosen Corporation in Osaka, Japan.
Hitachi Zosen Inova’s first DBFOO project
In addition to engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), HZI and HZC will also be fi-nancing, owning, and operating the plant in San Luis Obispo. Kompogas SLO LLC is thus HZI’s first DBFOO (Design, Build, Finance, Own, Operate) project. The 20-year operations and maintenance agreement will enter into force after commissioning in summer 2018. The plant will produce around 2,900,000 Nm3 of biogas and 22,000 US tons of high-grade compost and liquid fertilizer per annum from 33,000 US tons of green waste and biowaste. All of the biogas will be converted into electricity, delivering a power yield of 6,200,000 kWh/a, enough to cover the annual consumption of more than 600 US households. The compost will be sold separately as high-grade fertilizer for farming and residential gardening.
US legislation
The 75 Percent Initiative launched by California in 2011 has created the ideal framework for the San Luis Obispo project. This initiative sets out the state’s declared goal of achieving a 75% reduction in total waste by 2020. The strategies envisaged for achieving this are recycling, com-posting / dry anaerobic digestion, and reducing waste at the source. One of the first steps toward achieving this is the removal of biological waste from landfill sites. This measure is relatively simple to implement, and promises considerable potential with the possibility of cutting waste by 50%. “Thanks to the anaerobic treatment of the biological waste fraction, greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites will be reduced significantly. With the construction and operation of Kompogas SLO LLC, HZI will be supporting the authorities in achieving important environmental goals, while also creating additional jobs in the local labor market,” said Markus Stangl, CEO Hitachi Zosen Inova USA LLC, about the project. The production of the renewable fuel biogas and compost will further enable the ecologically sustainable and profitable recycling of biowaste as a raw material.
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