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4.0 Recent Research/ Procurements for Waste <br />Processing Technologies by Others <br />The most recently constructed P ' ng VTEfad|ity1nthe U.S. commenced <br />operations i1996.-5 Sinoo that time, <br />no commercial plant has been implemented. <br />Several reasons account for this lull of activity in the WTE field: <br />1' Loss of Tax Cred -The 1986 Tax Reform Act eliminated the significant tax <br />benefits for project owners/developers, contributing to the pipeline of <br />2. Environmental Activism - Misinformation about air pollution and ash impacts, <br />and preferences for recycling, created public resistance. <br />3' »(1994) - Effectively ended legislated <br />flow ----,creatinguncertaintyintherevenuestreamforprojects' <br />4. Megafills - Lange landfills with |ovv tipping fees and no put-or-pay waste <br />supply requirement out-competed VVTE for the market. <br />5. Amendment to the Clean Air A (1998) - New regulations required retrofit on <br />VVT�cost� ef�*ct|vea�ofDeosrnbar2OOO <br />��ia�ngp|antsan�orovoup , ' <br />G. -\/isib|e opposition by U.S. EPA to <br />preference combustion and for waste reduction/recycling sent negative <br />message about VYTE. <br />7. The rapidly increasing fossil fuel costs of the <br />1970s and '80s stabilized, reducing the value of the energy products from <br />WTE facilities, which were key dhwana in fmd|ibas developed earlier, and <br />making overall project economics less attractive. <br />In the past few years, however, interest in VVTE and waste conversion has begun to <br />grow again. This renewed interest in waste processing technologies is due to several <br />factors: <br />1. 'or environmental performance, reliability, <br />advancements in technology and successful ash handling strategies have <br />made VVTE an acceptable option to consider as part of waste management <br />planning. <br />2. With the i of oil now over $12O per barrel, <br />the cost of transportation fuels is making MSVV hauling and |andfi||ing more <br />expensive. In addition, the cost of electricity from fossil fuels is increasing, <br />making o|mc±hdty from waste more valuable and making VVTE more <br />competitive. <br />3' Many States are. requiring utilities to <br />g electricity from renewable sources, which <br />sometimes includes VVTE; the Federal government has included VVTE in its <br />definition of renewable energy. <br />4. In 2006, the U.S. EPA revised its waste <br />management hierarchy to include VVTE explicitly as the third priority after <br />waste reduction and recycling/composting. <br />5 Covan��2,250 TPD plant in Niagara Falls, NY. <br />6 C & A Carbone, Inc. v. Town o[C1arkstnwn, 511 U.S. 383 (1994). <br />GBB/C08027-01 12 August 15, 2008 <br />