POWER December 2016 - 32

TOP PLANTS
Palm Beach Renewable Energy
Facility 2, West Palm Beach, Florida
Owner/operator: Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County/Babcock & Wilcox Co.
Courtesy: Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County
Although waste-to-energy (WTE) technology is well proven, the relatively low cost
of landfilling garbage in the U.S. has foiled new power plant construction for many
years. However, a facility in Florida-the first greenfield WTE project the U.S. has
seen in 20 years-shows it's still possible to utilize this often " wasted " resource.
Aaron Larson
T
he late 1980s and early 1990s were a heyday
of sorts for the development of U.S.
waste-to-energy (WTE) power plants.
Installed WTE capacity grew from a little over
400 MW in 1985 to more than 2,000 MW by
1995. But that was when the party ended.
Although WTE plants have performed
very well and have been models of consistency-producing
between 14.2 TWh and
15.1 TWh of combined generation every
year from 2001 through 2014-challenging
market conditions in the energy and waste
sectors put the kibosh on new development.
Today, the Energy Recovery Council reports
that there are 196 units operating at 77 facilities
capable of generating 2,547 MW (15 of
the plants provide combined heat and power,
while three simply export steam).
WTE Shines in the Sunshine State
During the growth years, Florida was a hotbed
of activity. As a result, it has more WTE
facilities-11-than any other state in the
U.S. Although it doesn't lead the nation in
the percentage of the state's municipal solid
waste (MSW) managed by WTE facilities,
Florida does have the greatest WTE capacity.
Its plants are capable of handling 20,114 tons
32
per day (t/d) of MSW, close to double the
capacity of the next-highest state, New York.
Florida is also home to the newest WTE
plant to enter the U.S. fleet. Palm Beach
Renewable Energy Facility 2 (PBREF 2) entered
commercial operation on July 18, 2015.
The 95-MW plant, owned by the Solid Waste
Authority (SWA) of Palm Beach County, utiTable
1. Primary vendors involved in the Palm Beach Renewable Energy
Facility 2 project. Source: Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County
Company
Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County Plant owner
The Babcock & Wilcox Co. (B&W)
KBR Inc.
B&W Power Generation Group
ARCADIS
B&W KVB-Enertec
B&W Vølund
CDM Smith Inc.
Emerson
General Electric
Konecranes
SPX Cooling Technologies Inc.
www.powermag.com
Project responsibility
Construction consortium leader-supplied combustion technology
and major plant design
Construction, engineering, and balance-of-plant equipment
Operations and maintenance services provider under 20-year
contract
Owner's engineer-provided design criteria, environmental permitting,
and monitored construction
Supplied continuous emissions monitoring system
Supplied boiler grate system
Civil works, buildings, wastewater treatment, and fire systems
subcontractor
Supplied Ovation distributed control system
Supplied turbine and generator set
Supplied refuse cranes and crane automation system
Supplied air-cooled condenser
POWER | December 2016
http://www.powermag.com
POWER December 2016

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