San Luis Obispo, USA

The dry anaerobic digestion plant in San Luis Obispo (California) is not only the first Kompogas^® plant in the USA, but also HZI’s first DBFOO project (design, build, finance, own, operate). This means that HZI, in close cooperation with its parent company Hitachi Zosen Corporation, undertook both engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the project, while also acting as financier, owner and operator.

The plant is part of the 75 per cent initiative launched by the State of California in 2011. The goal of the initiative was to reduce waste by 75 % and thereby decrease greenhouse gas emissions. The construction of dry anaerobic digestion plants serves both goals: On the one hand, thanks to separate waste collection, the amount of waste in landfills is reduced. On the other hand, anaerobic recycling of biowaste contributes significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) provided funding of 4 million dollars for the development and construction of the Kompogas^® SLO plant. Another 4 million came from the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) programme of the California Energy Commission (CEC). The remaining funding came from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and MUFG Bank Ltd.