B&W Calls on U.S. EPA to Limit Methane Emissions From Landfills
October 26 2015 - 7:15AM
Business Wire
Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (B&W) (NYSE:BW) has
provided formal comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s proposed emissions rules for municipal solid waste (MSW)
landfills, calling for more stringent limits on emissions of
methane, a greenhouse gas that plays a role in climate change.
Methane, which is generated in landfills by the decomposition of
organic waste such as food and plant matter, is a heat-trapping gas
85 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfills are responsible
for 18 percent of manmade methane emissions in the United States,
according to the EPA.
Reducing these methane emissions is a key piece of the
administration’s Climate Action Plan announced in 2013. However,
B&W’s management is concerned that the proposed rule doesn’t
secure the level of methane reduction that could be achieved
through encouraging recycling, the diversion of organic waste from
landfills and the deployment of waste-to-energy power generation
technology for the production of clean, renewable energy, suitable
to support sustainable base-loaded power.
With more than 500 waste-to-energy and biomass units installed
worldwide, an established history providing environmental equipment
since the 1970s and the most comprehensive suite of environmental
control products available, B&W is well-qualified to share its
experience and make recommendations on this issue.
“While we applaud the administration’s strategy to reduce
methane emissions, we are concerned that the proposed rule does not
go far enough,” said E. James Ferland, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of B&W. “We urge the Agency to modify the rule to
support recycling, the diversion of organic waste from landfills
and greater reliance on waste-to-energy to achieve significantly
higher methane reductions.”
“B&W also recommends that the EPA use the 20-year global
warming potential of methane as established by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its Fifth Assessment
Report in the final rule,” Ferland said.
The EPA’s recently announced Clean Power Plan rule recognizes
waste-to-energy power as a reliable, renewable base load
technology. B&W and its subsidiary, B&W Vølund, have
designed and built many of these plants around the world. B&W
also designed and manufactured the steam generation system and
environmental control equipment for the newest and most-advanced
waste-to-energy plant in the United States, the Palm Beach
Renewable Energy Facility No. 2 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Click here to read the full text of B&W’s EPA letter and
comments.
About B&W
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Babcock & Wilcox is a
global leader in energy and environmental technologies and services
for the power and industrial markets. B&W companies employ
approximately 6,000 people around the world. Follow us on Twitter
@BabcockWilcox and learn more at www.babcock.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking
Statements
B&W cautions that this release contains forward-looking
statements, including statements relating to the reduction of
methane emissions through recycling, the diversion of organic waste
from landfills and the deployment of waste-to-energy power
generation technology, and B&W’s recommendations with respect
thereto. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks
and uncertainties, including, among other things, the impact of
current and proposed rules relating to methane emissions, recycling
efforts, and general economic conditions on the construction and
operation of new and existing waste-to-energy facilities. If one or
more of these or other risks materialize, actual results may vary
materially from those expressed. For a more complete discussion of
these and other risk factors, please see B&W's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including the information
statement on Form 10 and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q. B&W
cautions not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date this release, and
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statement, except to the extent required by applicable law.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151026005404/en/
Babcock & WilcoxMedia:Ryan Cornell,
330-860-1345Public
Relationsrscornell@babcock.comorInvestors:Leslie Kass,
704-625-4944Vice President, Investor Relations and
Communicationsinvestors@babcock.com
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