San Luis Obispo, CA / USA
San Luis Obispo, CA / USA
San Luis Obispo, CA: First Kompogas® Plant in North America
To support California’s legislative goals of diverting 75% of organics from landfills by 2025, HZI executed the Kompogas® plant in San Luis Obispo as a finance, design, build, own, operate (FDBOO) model in cooperation with the local waste hauler Waste Connections and the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority.
Supporting California’s Organics Diversion and Renewable Energy Goals
As part of California’s carbon footprint reduction policy from 2016, ambitious goals for the diversion of organic waste from landfills and renewable energy production have been signed into legislation. The state-of-the-art anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in San Luis Obispo, located on the scenic Central California Coast, marks the first Kompogas® plant in North America, contributing towards the state’s forward-thinking goals. With USD 4 million awarded and administered by CalRecycle, the Kompogas SLO facility is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has provided an additional USD 4 million for development under the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Program.
The Kompogas® Process The facility was designed to process up to 36,500 short tons of source-separated organics and green waste as well as fats, oils, and greases from the county’s residential collection program. After pre-treatment, the organic waste is fed into the plug-flow digester, where the thermophilic AD process ensures complete sanitation of the organic matter while its gas potential is fully exploited. The resulting biogas is utilized in an on-site combined heat and power (CHP) unit to produce renewable energy in the form of electricity that is exported to the utility power grid. The HZI KOM+Press separates the discharge into a solid and a liquid fraction. The solid digestate is aerated and, like the liquid digestate, is subsequently marketed as nutrient-rich compost and fertilizer to local agriculture. For odor control, all processing at the facility is enclosed within negative air pressure buildings. The subsequent biofilter assures natural and efficient cleaning of the collected waste air. Therefore, no emissions are released into the surrounding environment.
Finance, Design, Build, Own, Operate (FDBOO)
This facility marks the first Kompogas® plant that has been executed in accordance with the FDBOO model. The owner is Kompogas SLO LLC, a subsidiary of HZI, which operates the facility based on extensive experience from the operation of European facilities.
