Renewable energy plant planned for Milwaukee

Milwaukee-based Alliance Federated Energy (AFE) announced plans Tuesday to build a 25-megawatt renewable energy project on the north side of Milwaukee. The exact location of the facility was not named.
The $225 million project will create a facility to process municipal and industrial wastes into renewable energy using a process called plasma gasification. The gasification process exposes waste material to temperatures between 3,000 and 7,000 degrees Centigrade in an enclosed space, which captures all gases and vapors within the material.
The gases generated are cooled, scrubbed and refined – and are ultimately turned into a product called syngas that is burned to generate electricity.
“It takes the feed stock and breaks it down to its elemental form,” said Joshua Morby, a company spokesman. “What is now a waste stream will now be a fuel stream.”
AFE hopes to have its new facility open by 2013. Morby said the company now has an option on a 25-acre parcel on Milwaukee’s north side, but he would not disclose the exact location. The first phase of the project will be able to process about 1,200 tons of waste per day and generate enough energy to power as many as 20,000 homes.
The project, when operational, will have about 45 full time employees. AFE says it will generate about 250 jobs during the construction process.
The company is now in final negotiations with several Wisconsin-based institutional investors to fund construction of the project. It is also in discussions with city, state and federal officials about accessing public financing, Morby said.
AFE’s renewable energy plant will process municipal and industrial wastes that are not suitable for recycling, including industrial wastes including paint and fly ash. The plant will also be able to use household waste that is currently being placed into landfills.
“This commercially proven technology is the ultimate in recycling,” said Christopher Maloney, CEO of Alliance Federated Energy, “We are pleased to be building our first project right here in Wisconsin, a state committed to promoting environmental stewardship and technological innovation.”
Pleasant Prairie to provide $10 million in tax exempt bonds for EMCO
Pleasant Prairie village officials have agreed to authorize a tax-exempt $10 million bond for North Chicago, Ill.-based EMCO Chemical Distributors Inc.’s plans to redevelop the former Hexion Specialty Chemicals facility at 8601 95th St., Pleasant Prairie. The village will authorize the bonds but the company will be responsible to repay them.
EMCO plans to purchase the facility ad will use it to distribute and blend specialty chemicals. The company will have 100 employees at the facility, including 90 that will move there from the company’s North Chicago facility.
“Welcoming EMCO as a new corporate citizen in our business park is a plus all the way around,” said Pleasant Prairie village president John Steinbrink Sr. “We are able to increase the level of employment for families in the community while offering EMCO a first class location with access to all of the amenities that can help contribute to the continued success of their business.”