Trash-to-energy plant wins financing

Waste Management Inc. will provide up to $70 million in funding for a trash-to-energy plant proposed at the Lockwood landfill east of Reno.

Fulcrum BioEnergy of Pleasanton, Calif., said it will use the commitment from Waste Management as a back-up source of debt capital in case it doesn't win a federal loan guarantee that it is pursuing.

With the Waste Management commitment, Fulcrum can move ahead with construction of the northern Nevada facility to be known as Sierra BioFuels.

The $180 million plant is expected to be under construction by the end of this year, with completion in 2013. Fluor Corporation is the general contractor.

It will convert 147,000 tons of pre-sorted waste provided by Waste Management into about 10 million gallons of ethanol annually.

Beginning with a thermochemical gasification system that converts the solid waste into a gas, Fulcrum has developed a proprietary alcohol synthesis process that converts the gas into advanced biofuels.

As part of the financing deal, Waste Management agreed to collaborate with Fulcrum on projects at other landfills around the United States.

Fulcrum has said it believes it can develop trash-to-biofuels plants nationwide that will produce about 1 billion gallons of fuel annually.