Company:
OC Waste & Recycling
Status:
Awarded
Awarded:
Energy Project of the Year
Additional Files
Energy Program Fact Sheet Feb 2013
Factsheet OC Final 6170737 CFFP New York
Additional Information

None

OC Waste & Recycling/Broadrock Renewable Energy Program – Olinda Landfill

Project Location:

Olinda Landfill, Brea, California

Project Description:

The Project is a state-of-the-art combined cycle electricity generating facility that became operational in late 2012. The Project, which has been under development since 2006, is currently the 3rd largest landfill gas (LFG) fueled power plant in America. It leads the industry in both high efficiency and low emissions and represents a unique and extraordinary example of the benefits of a public-private partnership.  The Project was a winner of the prestigious U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Project of the Year award.

Project Justification:

•The Project represents a $130 million private sector investment in clean, renewable energy that created jobs and provide low-cost power to residents of Anaheim.

•The Project produces 32.5 megawatts of low-cost renewable energy, which, together with the existing facilities at the site produces 37.5 megawatts. Because the Project converts LFG to electricity on a 24/7 basis, the output is equivalent to the energy output of approximately 100 one-megawatt wind turbines and is roughly ten times the size of the average LFG to electricity project.

•The Project produces enough renewable energy to power more than 22,000 homes, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

•The electricity produced by the Project is delivered to the regional grid and bought by the City of Anaheim/Anaheim Public Utilities, with the output used throughout Anaheim.

Special Circumstances:

This project represents three public agencies (County of Orange/OC Waste & Recycling, City of Brea and City of Anaheim/Anaheim Public Utilities) collaborating for the benefit of the entire Orange County community with the investment and partnership of the private sector (BroadRock Renewables LLC). These partnerships have yielded a process that comes full circle. The information below provides a synopsis of each partner’s role in achieving this successful partnership.

County of Orange/OC Waste & Recycling

•The County of Orange/OC Waste & Recycling manages the daily disposal of municipal solid waste at three active regional landfill operations, including the Olinda Alpha Landfill in the City of Brea. As previously mentioned, the County of Orange/OC Waste & Recycling buries more than 3 million tons of solid waste each year. As this waste decomposes, it produces landfill gas, which is primarily composed of methane and carbon dioxide gases. Landfill gas has been identified as a renewable source of energy and can be converted into electricity.

•Landfill gas-to-energy projects at the County of Orange/OC Waste & Recycling facilities produce more than 50 megawatts of electrical power with its existing supplies of landfill gas and anticipates expanding its electrical production to more than 73 megawatts of power in the future. While most landfills collect landfill gas, a greenhouse gas, and burn it in a flare system to destroy it, the County of Orange/OC Waste & Recycling partnered with BroadRock Renewables LLC to implement a project that now uses this gas in a variety of applications to create renewable energy. The project leverages the resources from the County of Orange/OC Waste & Recycling’s landfill gas and collection system and technology from BroadRock Renewables’ power plant to create an innovative and more environmentally sound solution that offers a clean, renewable energy resource for generations to come.

City of Brea

•City of Brea is the local host community and provided critical cooperation and support throughout the process. In addition, the City owns and operates the municipal water and wastewater system upon which the Project relies. Since this Project is physically located in the unincorporated County area, near the City of Brea, most planning and development permits were processed by the County of Orange Public Works Department. This process was done with careful collaboration with the City of Brea.  Additionally, while the County of Orange served as the Lead Agency for the CEQA/Environmental Impact Report process, careful and cooperative efforts were also made between the two entities to ensure proper comment was received and adequate circulation efforts to residents were accomplished. With Brea’s assistance and cooperation, the permitting process was streamlined to ensure that it could be built within a specified timeframe to comply with the private sector financing requirements. 

City of Anaheim/Anaheim Public Utilities

•City of Anaheim/Anaheim Public Utilities is a city-owned, not-for-profit electric and water utility that offers quality electric and water services – at rates among the lowest in California – to its more than 350,000 residents and businesses of Anaheim. The City of Anaheim/Anaheim Public Utilities entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with BroadRock Renewables LLC for the acquisition of electricity to serve Anaheim businesses and residents.

BroadRock Renewables LLC

•BroadRock Renewables LLC is a portfolio company of the Macquarie Infrastructure Partners II. BroadRock’s portfolio of projects currently consists of landfill gas fueled electricity generating facilities in California and Rhode Island. BroadRock management and staff worked closely with the County of Orange/OC Waste & Recycling on the design and construction of the Project at the Olinda Alpha Landfill. This process began in December 2010 with commercial operations having begun in late 2012.

Project Attachments:

Environmental Benefits

•The natural decomposition of trash buried in the landfill produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that can be utilized in the development of renewable energy. County of Orange/OC Waste & Recycling and BroadRock both envisioned an opportunity for capturing the methane gas and using it to produce electricity, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the landfill, and reducing the need to use fossil fuels like coal or oil for electricity production.

•Over the next 20 years, the Project will reduce emissions equivalent to burning 144,000 railcars worth of coal.

•The Project establishes a new standard in LFG post-combustion emissions control by utilizing selective catalytic reduction (SCR) together with robust and comprehensive gas pre-treatment.

•The Project utilizes a high efficiency combined cycle process, which captures the waste exhaust heat from the combustion turbines to create additional electricity at an efficiency of approximately 45%.

•Because the City of Anaheim is located within the landfill’s wasteshed, the Project creates a “virtuous cycle” of environmental conservation by consuming the electricity in the very community that produced the waste.

•The Project employs an innovative reuse of precious water that will save an average of 32,000 gallons per day of potable water.

Economic Benefits

•Total investment in the Project is approximately $130 million. Cost to Orange County taxpayers is zero.

•The County of Orange/OC Waste & Recycling is projected to receive approximately $2.75 million in royalty payments annually.

•All major equipment components were manufactured in the U.S. and the principal generating equipment, four combustion turbine generators, were manufactured by Solar Turbines in its San Diego manufacturing facility, located a mere 100 miles from the location of the plant.

•Other benefits include the avoided costs of properly disposing the landfill gas with no beneficial reuse.

•There is also possible direct sales revenue from annual energy royalties, which helps offset the overall cost of landfill operations for the County and helps keep waste disposal rates lower for Orange County residents.

Job creation and retention

•Approximately 25 FTE permanent jobs, mostly local, were created for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the Project.

•During the Project construction phase, approximately 155 FTE jobs were created in California, some of which are local jobs.

•All major equipment components were manufactured in the U.S. and the principal generating equipment, four combustion turbine generators, were manufactured by Solar Turbines in its San Diego manufacturing facility, a mere 100 miles from the location of the plant.

•While many of these jobs were filled by local workers, their local employment, regardless of their home or business location, generated revenues to local businesses throughout the City of Brea and neighboring communities.

Physical Size and Financing Agreements

•The Project is currently the 3rd largest landfill gas fueled power plant in the country, and the sheer size of the project was the driving factor behind many of the innovative project elements.  For example, whereas most beneficial use projects are small enough to be financed using 100% equity, this was impossible due to the $130 million investment required.  As a result, the Project was financed using the more complicated traditional project finance structure usually reserved for much larger power projects.

•This necessitated all of the typical elements required for a traditional project financing, including long-term off-take agreement, fully wrapped, fixed price, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract and a creditable and bonded contractor.

•Moreover, because the Project was financed in such a difficult credit environment securing the debt required a complicated “club” of 5 lenders, an Internal Revenue Code Section 1603 tax grant bridge loan, and a $10 million Department of Energy stimulus grant.

The unique combination of public-private financing was a key element to the Project, without which it could not possibly have been completed. The Power Purchase Agreement with the City of Anaheim/Anaheim Public Utilities was instrumental in securing the financing.

Award Citation::

The Project is a state-of-the-art combined cycle electricity generating facility that became operational in late 2012. The Project, which has been under development since 2006, is currently the 3rd largest landfill gas (LFG) fueled power plant in America. It leads the industry in both high efficiency and low emissions and represents a unique and extraordinary example of the benefits of a public-private partnership.  The Project was a winner of the prestigious U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Project of the Year award.

Suggested Award Summary:

The Project is a state-of-the-art combined cycle electricity generating facility that became operational in late 2012. The Project, which has been under development since 2006, is currently the 3rd largest landfill gas (LFG) fueled power plant in America. It leads the industry in both high efficiency and low emissions and represents a unique and extraordinary example of the benefits of a public-private partnership.  The Project was a winner of the prestigious U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Project of the Year award.

• The Project represents a $130 million private sector investment in clean, renewable energy that created jobs and provide low-cost power to residents of Anaheim.

• The Project produces 32.5 megawatts of low-cost renewable energy, which, together with the existing facilities at the site produces 37.5 megawatts. Because the Project converts LFG to electricity on a 24/7 basis, the output is equivalent to the energy output of approximately 100 one-megawatt wind turbines and is roughly ten times the size of the average LFG to electricity project.

• The Project produces enough renewable energy to power more than 22,000 homes, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• The electricity produced by the Project is delivered to the regional grid and bought by the City of Anaheim/Anaheim Public Utilities, with the output used throughout Anaheim

Project Awards

Burris Pump Station Project, Phase 1 Skimming the Waters of Newport Habor Sunset Ridge Park Lake Forest Sports Park Coyote Creek Class I Bikeway The Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) Corona del Mar Water Transmission Main Santa Ana River Interceptor (SARI Line) Relocation Project State Route 57 Northbound Widening (Central Phase) 20 Story Office Tower and 8 Story parking Structure @ 650/670 Newport Center Drive Tustin Ranch Road Extension Balboa Boulevard Beautification Park Place SR 57 Widening North Segment Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) Irvine Regional Park Maintenance Building Replacement Project Sand Canyon Avenue Grade Separation SR-57 Improvements Newport Forcemain Project Emergency Roof Stabilization, Tustin Hangar 1 Lower Santa Ana River Reach 9 Phase 2B Project Newport Beach Civic Center & Park City of San Clemente Recycled Water Expansion Project Groundwater Replenishment System Initial Expansion Cerritos Avenue Reconstruction and Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project Bristol Street Improvements Phase II New Ocelot Exhibit at the Santa Ana Zoo Newport Beach's Harbor Litter Removal Project Brookhurst Street Widening Project I-5/SR-74 Interchange Improvement Project Oso Creek Multi-Use Trail PCH/Del Prado Street Improvements Marina Park Newland, Edinger, and East Garden Grove Wintersburg Storm Channel Confluence System Gobernadora Multipurpose Basin Lincoln Avenue Widening over the Santa Ana River Gilbert Street Improvements LAGUNA BEACH FESTIVAL OF ARTS FAÇADE/ENTRANCE PROJECT ALEGRE AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS Cow Camp Road Design – Phases 1A & 1B West County Connectors Project Waste to Energy - Bowerman Power Project Glassell Yard Campus Stormwater Low-Impact Development Retrofit Project Esencia, Rancho Mission Viejo Irvine Boulevard Pedestrian Bridge Orange County Water District La Palma Groundwater Recharge Basin Stanton Central Park Jeffrey Open Space Trail Emerald Bay Entrance Widening Peters Canyon (Wash) Channel Water Capture and Reuse Pipeline Project 91 Express Lanes Pavement Rehabilitation and CMS Replacement Memory Lane Park, Santa Ana La Pata Extension Project SR-91 Westbound Widening Newport Beach Country Club Clubhouse 400 Spectrum Center Drive Soil Nail Wall Myra 3 Stormwater Pump Station Sunset/Huntington harbour Dredging and Waterline Project Huntington Beach Senior Center In Central Park Newport Boulevard Widening Crown Valley Park Channel Entry Improvements Anaheim Convention Center Betterment VII Mackay Park Tesoro Zone II and Zone B Water Facilities Park Avenue Bridge over Grand Canal I-5/La Novia Roundabout Dairy Fork Wetland and Habitat Restoration Jeffrey Road Park n' Ride Lot Expansion Project Tustin-Rose Grade Separation Project, Part of the OCTA OC Bridges Grade Separations Program Argyros Girl Scout Leadership Center Wagon Wheel Creek Restoration and Stormwater Management OCTA OC Bridges Program ABC Green Home 3.0 Project Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts Grounds Renovation Ortega Highway Emergency Repair Project The Tracks at Brea Baker Ranch City of Buena Park Fire Station No. 61 Arlington Drive Bioswale & Dry Weather Diversion Project Altair Irvine Village Pond Park/Veterans Park Renovation Mid-Basin Injection: Centennial Park Agua Chinon Corridor Tarbut V’ Torah Phase III & Phase IV Rancho Mission Viejo Joint-Use Pavilion I-5 HOV Improvement Project between Avenida Pico and Avenida Vista Hermosa Orange County Great Park Sports Complex Crawford Canyon Road Drainage Improvements & Reconstruction South Cove Development Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena Lido House Hotel Broadcom Corporate Campus (now FivePoint Gateway West Orange County Water Board Feeder No. 2 Relocation Newhope-Placentia Trunk Sewer Replacement Project State College Boulevard Grade Separation Los Patrones Parkway Rancho Mission Viejo Multipurpose Path Urth Caffe - Orange Environmental Nature Center Preschool Building 16

Candidate Awards

Natalie A. Meeks, P.E. Tasha M. Kamegai-Karadi Yazdan (Yaz) T. Emrani, P.E., Byron Tobey, PE, QSD, LEEP AP Eric Walker Gidti Ludesirishoti Victoria Pilko Pratanu Ghosh Steven R Marvin Phil Jones, PE Joshua Nelson, PE Victor Aguirre Kenneth H. Rosenfield, PE George A. Jurica, PE Tom Bogard Ravi Shah, PE, QSP/QSD Amy Choi, EIT Elizabeth Ruedas, EIT, ENV SP Mujahid Chandoo Roxanne Follis Amir Aghakouchak, Ph.D., M-ASCE, P.E. Fred Minagar Jeffrey Okamoto, PE Harvey Gobas Chloe Gharios Kevin Onuma, P.E. Ryan Chamberlain Dr. Adrian Moore Michael Pierce, A.M.ASCE Remi Candaele, PE, MS, QSD/QSP, M.ASCE Thomas A. Broz, P.E., S.E, F.ASCE Karen Cervantes, S.M.ASCE Isamar Escobar, A.M.ASCE Kevin Kondru, P.E., M.ASCE Douglas J. Johnson, P.E., M.ASCE Jeremy Redman, PhD Christopher Haire Mojgan Hashemi, P.E., M.ASCE OC Report Card Executive Committee Steven J. Huff, P.E., M.ASCE William Bennett, P.E., M.ASCE Bruce Phillips, P.E. Brad Dybel, PE Bryant Wong Gyssela (Jazzy) Quinabo, E.I.T. Nestor Godinez, PE Professor Joel Lanning Elizabeth Ruedas Dave Lowe Wei Koo Bill Lawson Amber Ganapathy Bob Kallenbaugh State Senator Josh Newman Gary Urban Dr. Sudarshan Kurwadkar Clint Isa, PE Jason Fix, PE Chirath "Chuck" Karunathilake Amber Shah Ashlyn Alexander John C Hogan Marionne Lapitan Dr. C.T. Bathala, PhD, P.E. Kevin Du Mont, P.E. Ziad Mazboudi, P.E., D.WRE, MBA David Frattone, P.E. Lisa Bartlett Jennifer Bohen Gyssela (Jazzy) Quinabo, E.I.T. Adeleine J. Tran, P.E. Jared Lindo Janelle Gonzalez Marionne Lapitan, E.I.T., ENV SP Chirath "Chuck" Karunathilake Gabreelle Gonzalez, P.E. George A. Jurica, P.E. Jeff Braun, P.E. Representative Harley Rouda Jeremy R. Squire, P.E. Kathereen Shinkai, P.E. Mobility 21 Douglas J. Sereno, P.E., F.ASCE Dr. Lisa Star, Ph.D., P.E. Lisa M. Penna, P.E., F.ASCE, QSD Michael A. Kraman, P.E. Tapas Dutta, P.E., F.ASCE Raul Omar Rodriguez Mathew Picardal Darlyn Hernandez Keenan Do Guillermo Medina Jesse Bennett Rob Himes Jennifer Marks Andrew Oshrin Sam Ali Stephanie Wiggins Patrick Tierney, P.E. Rudy Emami
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