For more information, contact:
Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc.
(703) 573-5800 / www.gbbinc.com

Fairfax, VA (February 21, 2013) – Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) is continuing its evaluation of development options for the Cleveland Recycling and Energy Generation (CREG) Center project. The City of Cleveland hired GBB to review options for the CREG Center project which seeks to better manage the City’s municipal solid waste, with the potential for using waste as a source for locally-produced energy.

Joining GBB for this assignment are five firms with complementary backgrounds that will work seamlessly with GBB, bringing to the table their local understanding and/or in-depth experience in keys areas of expertise for this important project. They are: NTH Consultants, Ltd., McGuiness Unlimited, Inc., and Whelan Communications, Inc., which are all based in Cleveland; GT Environmental, Inc., based in Ohio; and RMF Engineering, Inc.

“Cleveland has been investigating the use of municipal solid waste (MSW) for the production of energy since at least 2007,” noted Ken Silliman, Chief of Staff for Mayor Frank Jackson. “Our goals, in part, are to reduce Cleveland’s dependence on fossil fuels, develop local energy generation capacity, and recover marketable by-products, such as recyclables, from MSW. The GBB Project Team is in a unique position to assist us in developing a successful project due to its background, project understanding, local offices and resources, and experience. We anticipate this process will result in a short-listing of qualified companies and a Request for Proposals by the fall of 2013.”

In September 2011, the Division of Cleveland Public Power (CPP) began a procurement process for the development of the project and initially issued a Request for Information and Qualifications (RFIQ), followed later by a Supplemental Request for Information and Qualification (SRIQ), that targeted a wide variety of waste conversion and management approaches, including thermal conversion, pyrolysis, gasification, recycling, and fuel production, as well as consulting and financial firms to assist in project development.

The GBB Project Team will review, analyze, and evaluate the responses received through the RFIQ and SRIQ; evaluate gasification to energy development efforts; evaluate the co-generation opportunity; and provide a shortlist and comparison of the three best overall options, along with a life cycle analysis of each, and; make overall recommendations on how to develop the CREG Center.

“Having worked on approximately 200 assignments involving utilization of waste for its energy content since 1980, and tracking 570+ alternative conversion technology companies, GBB has a significant amount of waste-to-energy (WTE) and conversion technologies (CT) experience,” noted John Carlton, GBB Vice President. “This is an important assignment, and we are excited and enthusiastic for this opportunity to work closely with the City of Cleveland in developing a roadmap for a sound and successful CREG Center.”

The City of Cleveland Department of Public Works operates the Division of Waste Collection and Disposal (DWC), which provides weekly collection of waste from 155,000 homes, the City’s West Side Market, Fire and Police Stations, the Justice Center, City Hall and other City buildings and public areas. DWC also operates the Ridge Road Transfer Station, where all MSW is brought before going to landfills. The City has an Advance Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS) that requires CPP to diversify its power supply. The AEPS requires CPP to purchase at least 15% of its base load power from advanced and renewable sources by 2015, 20% by 2020, and 25% by 2025. CPP has entered agreements for several renewable and advance energy projects including hydropower, solar, and waste-to-energy anaerobic digestion technology projects and is expected to meet the 2015 milestone.

GBB is a national solid waste management consulting firm founded in 1980 that works on solid waste collection, processing, recycling and disposal issues and assists in planning, procuring, and implementing sound, cost-effective facilities and services at the local, state, and national levels for both the public and private sectors. For more information on the firm and its products and services, visit www.gbbinc.com, www.facebook.com/gbbinc, or call 703-573-5800.

###