Auburn City Council considers biomass energy facility on city property

The Auburn City Council recently discussed the possibility of a biomass energy facility leasing and operating at the city's wastewater treatment facility. Officials from Collectron Energy of Delaware proposed operating a biomass to power the wastewater treatment facility. City staff recommended the council approve moving forward with the company to lease and operate on city lands. "This is a very innovative project that combines biomass and processing of products," City Manager John Donlevy said. "They are proposing to take all the city's wastewater sludge. There is a lot of win-win in this proposal." Collectron CEO Mike Becker gave a presentation of details behind the science that would be used for Auburn Energy Junction, the proposed facility. "Collectron is about deploying integrated clean energy infrastructure and we are doing that to accelerate the reduction, removal and sequestration of carbon emissions from the atmosphere," Becker said. The facility would utilize proprietary technology to convert organic waste (including Auburn's wastewater sludge) into sustainable, high-value byproduct called biochar. "The key objective of this project is to provide the city a sustainable and cost-effective solution to dealing with its wastewater sludge," Becker said. "Specifically, the post treatment of that sludge." The city currently produces one ton of water-waste sludge a day, which is hauled to a facility in Wheatland twice a week. Should Collectron operate its biomass facility, that waste would be processed in Collectron's facility and eventually become biochar. According to the staff report, Collectron could save the city $200,000 a year – more than $7 million over the 25-year lease being considered. Dan Rich, principal engineer from NexGen Utility Management and consultant for the city, was on hand to answer questions about why this would be beneficial to the city's wastewater treatment facility. Regulations coming from the state are changing the way plants deal with sludge and will require communities to think differently in the future, he said. "One reason we are very interested in this is it is probably the only option in the future that doesn't cost the city any money," Rich said. "It's as cheap as you can imagine." Despite its benefits to the city, Councilwoman Alice Dowdin Calvillo said there are still several details to be hammered out, specifically over regulations of operating a biomass facility in California. Dowdin Calvillo called on the fact that Collectron's technology is very new and there were many questions she had about the process and safety and security of the city's wastewater treatment facility. While Becker and his team couldn't provide Dowdin Calvillo with all the answers she sought, he said he was under the impression they were just introducing the proposal for future consideration. Councilman Daniel Berlant agreed with Dowdin Calvillo there were details that still needed to be addressed. "I think there are some serious items that need to be flushed out," Berlant said. "I am excited about this innovation. Something that is new for the state. I definitely look forward to continued conversation." The council gave a go-ahead in a 4-1 vote (Dowdin Calvillo dissenting) to move ahead with the planning and lease negotiations with Collectron. Donlevy said Collectron is working on its planning proposal for the project and estimates that will be ready in the next two months. City staff took note of the council's concerns about the project, and Donlevy said they are working on a complete overview on the project and the multiple platforms they will be working. "I sent a list of over 20 clarifying questions which we will get to council," Donlevy said in an email to the Auburn Journal on Thursday. "This will come with their application." Donlevy said the city is also working to formulate a lease with Collectron which will parallel the planning application. "The lease will have timing and performance requirements which will be determined through the planning," Donlevy said. "We are moving forward with an appraisal then fold it all together in the end."