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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