Convert Ridge Road Transfer Station into gas producing facility.

(Cleveland) - Imagine turning Cleveland's waste to power.

The city plans to pioneer a process in the U.S. using technology that converts municipal solid waste into a synthetic gas using a thermal gasification process. This synthetic gas would then be used to fire a boiler through state-of-the-art technology and produce electricity.


This week, Cleveland signed an agreement with Princeton Environmental Group of Hawthorne, NJ for a facility design. It would be used to obtain the air permit for a Municipal Solid Waste to Energy (MSWE) facility at the Ridge Road Transfer Station.

The MSWE facility will use environmentally friendly gasification technology that has been used for many years in Japan and is offered by Kinsei Sangyo Company of Takaski, Japan.

Princeton Environmental Group has the license from Kinsei Sangyo and will relocate its U.S. Headquarters to Cleveland and assemble gasifiers locally. Once fully operational, the Princeton facility will employ 68 people.

“This would be the first U.S. application of the technology and another step forward to position Cleveland as a leader in sustainability, advanced energy and in international economic development,” said Mayor Frank G. Jackson.

Such a facility would reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, allow Cleveland Public Power (CPP) to generate electric power locally and increase the use of alternative energy sources in its supply portfolio.

The signing follows nearly two years of research into alternative energy options and a feasibility study of the technology. In August of last year, a delegation from Cleveland visited companies in Japan that used Kinsei Sangyo gasification systems and evaluated the impact on the surrounding community.

“This technology may be used in densely populated areas and obtaining the air permit is the first step in the process,” said Barry Withers, Director of the Department of Public Utilities.

The Ridge Road facility would be further developed to host the technology. It currently connects to the power grid from CPP’s substation on the property.

“The use of this technology will help reduce CPP’s dependence on fossil fuels while encouraging the development of the advance energy technology industry,” said Ivan Henderson, Commissioner of Cleveland Public Power. CPP will take 20 MW of power out of the facility which in addition to power generation will include state-of-the-art sorting and recycling.

The cost of the permit design agreement is $1.5 million with contributions from CPP, the Cleveland Foundation, American Municipal Power, and the American Public Power Association.

Once the City obtains a permit it would move forward with financing plans for the MSWE facility itself which is estimated at around $200 million. Once fully operational, Cleveland’s MSWE facility will create an additional 100 new jobs.

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