Plans for Gary waste-to-fuel plant continue despite delays
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A California-based bioenergy company is continuing plans to build a $600 million waste-to-fuel plant in Gary and while addressing concerns from residents. Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report Fulcrum Bioenergy Inc. is in the midst of engineering design work for the facility, which is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
The project has been delayed by the pandemic and the company’s efforts to complete its first waste-to-fuel plant near Reno, Nevada, according to the publication.
Fulcrum first announced plans for the facility in 2018. The original plan called for the creation of up to 163 jobs, though The Times reports that number has been reduced to about 130.
The facility is planned for the former Lehigh Portland Cement Co. site. Company officials recently took a group of residents and local business and political leaders on a bus tour of the site to provide more information on the project.
The process involves converting municipal waste into feedstock, which will be transported to the Gary site to be broken down into syngas gas and converted into a crude oil substitute. That product would then be transported to a refinery to be combined with traditional jet fuel.
Flyn van Ewijk, director of project development for Fulcrum, tells The Times there are plans for two feedstock facilities that will likely be located in Chicago and an as-yet unknown location in Indiana.
Opponents of the project have expressed concern over emissions, though the company says any air pollutants would be below Lake County thresholds, and the facility’s wastewater would not be released into Lake Michigan.
An economic development agreement for the project was approved by the Gary Common Council last November. Fulcrum officials expect construction to take two years, with operations beginning in 2025 or 2026.
You can read the full story and view video from the bus tour from The Times of Northwest Indiana by clicking here.