Powerdyne, the company proposing to turn Terre Haute wastewater sludge into diesel fuel, announced Tuesday it is bringing "hundreds of new temporary and permanent jobs" to the city.
The company's proposed renewable fuel plant will be up and running in about 24 months, according to a news release issued by the company in the afternoon.
In a follow-up telephone interview, Geoff Hirson, Powerdyne's president, told the Tribune-Star a couple of sites remain under consideration for a plant location. He was not ready to identify those sites, he said.
In the news release, issued through PR Newswire, a commercial news organization, Powerdyne said it will be "investing hundreds of millions of dollars to construct" a sewage-to-diesel fuel facility in Terre Haute.
"Powerdyne's business model is all about turning waste product, a necessary but unpleasant reality, into something positive, sustaining and revenue generating," the release quotes Hirson stating. "In Terre Haute, we are investing millions into the community and building a national standard that — because there are no out-of-pocket costs to the City — will become a true 'green' model for other cities seeking to deal with their sludge in a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly, emission-free way."
Asked about monthly payments of $719,000 from the city to Powerdyne and whether those constituted "out of pocket" costs, Hirson said: "You have to read the right sentence." The "out-of-pocket" costs was a reference to the fact the city will be purchasing renewable fuel and then selling it at a profit to a third company, Sodrel Fuels. "The city is going to make money," he said.
Asked whether the $719,000 pays for sludge removal, Hirson would not answer. "You need to ask the city what that's for."
Mayor Duke Bennett, reached earlier, agreed the city will make revenue from its partnership with Powerdyne. He called the Powerdyne project a "win-win" for the city. Bennett also said more aspects of the partnership will emerge later.
"There are some other pieces of this that we haven't talked about yet," the mayor said.
The Powerdyne news release also states the city could benefit to the tune of about $3 million annually in payments administered by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Renewable Identification Number System. The city's contract with Powerdyne states the city will receive RINS each time Powerdyne delivers renewable fuel to the city.
"It's a very complicated system," Hirson said when asked to explain the RINS payments. "Look it up on Wikipedia," he advised.
The opening paragraph on the Wikipedia listing on Renewable Identification Number System says: "A Renewable Identification Number (or RIN) is a serial number assigned to a batch of biofuel for the purpose of tracking its production, use, and trading as required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) implemented according to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. (See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_Identification_Number.)
Asked whether Powerdyne has qualified or applied for the EPA program, Hirson declined comment but noted RINS is mentioned in the city's contract with the California-based company.
When asked whether the city can expect to receive $3 million in "up front" payments associated with the project, and mentioned repeatedly by Mayor Bennett, the telephone interview, which lasted about 10 minutes, suddenly ended.
Prior to that point, Hirson indicated he did not appreciate some of the questions being asked in the interview and emphasized the jobs and investment he said Powerdyne will mean for the city.
When told that some people have questioned whether the wastewater treatment plant produces enough sludge to generate the quantity of diesel fuel proposed by Powerdyne, Hirson said that is based on a lack of understanding.
"They don't understand what we're doing," Hirson said. Asked whether he would be willing to explain that process, Hirson declined. "We don't explain our technology to anybody," he said.
The Powerdyne website states Hirson helped the Navajo Nation, a native America tribe, obtain permits for a solar power project. An official with the Navajo Nation told the Tribune-Star last week it had no record of dealing with Hirson or Powerdyne. That work was done while Hirson was with another company, he said in the interview. That company is called USA Green Energy Group, he said. Information about the project is available online, he said. He also indicated he did not feel the subject was relevant to the current project.
"Where I've been and what I've done, I don't think is of any importance to the people of Terre Haute," Hirson said
Hirson said Powerdyne will issue another news release in about a month. He could not state when the company might break ground on its planned facility.