Plasco lands $110-million investment
The group behind a proposed waste-to-energy plant in Red Deer County has been given $110 million worth of investor confidence.
Los Angeles-based Ares Management LLC led the equity placement by making a $100-million commitment.
The cash brings the total amount invested in Plasco and its gasification technology to $270 million and allows the Ottawa-based company to launch commercial delivery of its technology, the company said in a Wednesday announcement.
Plasco uses intense heat to convert municipal garbage into a gas that can be used to generate electricity.
A 100-tonne-per-day test plant is operating in Ottawa.
A 200-tonne-day plant is slated for a site next Red Deer County’s Horn Hill Waste Transfer Site a few kilometres east of Penhold.
Construction on the project was to have started last summer but stalled when investment capital dried up as the economy went into a freefall.
Plasco executives remain hopeful that $24 million in federal Green Infrastructure Fund cash will be approved soon, allowing construction to begin this summer.
Red Deer County manager Curtis Herzberg confirmed on Wednesday that no word has been received on that funding, but he expressed some optimism that the equity investment will help Plasco’s case for federal funding help.
“I sure hope it would provide some additional confidence for (the federal government) that this is a pretty significant private sector, private investment statement of confidence in the process.
“The Central Waste Commission really sees this as a very positive thing. It shows that there is investor confidence in seeing these types of plants and this type of technology being utilized.”
A Plasco spokesman could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Plasco chairman and chief executive officer Rod Bryden says in a release that the “capital raised to date is a remarkable expression of confidence in the depth of the market, the competitive strength of the technology, and the abilities of Plasco management and staff.
“Plasco will now move confidently and prudently to bring the Plasco Conversion System to communities that are seeking excellence in environmental performance and an increased share of their energy produced from the waste of urban society that would otherwise not be utilized.”
Jeff Serota, senior partner at Ares Management says, “The conversion of municipal solid waste into electricity, clean water and clean aggregate allows the company to address two very important markets: managing waste as well as producing clean energy.
“With this major investment in the company, we believe Plasco is well positioned to benefit from rapidly growing worldwide market for these two basic needs.”
Ares is a global alternative asset manager and investment advising firm that manages $37 billion in committed capital. The firm is headquartered in Los Angeles and its 330 employees are located in offices throughout the U.S. and Europe.
pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
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