On March 12, 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Ameresco, Inc., a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, will hold a ceremonial Ribbon Cutting to mark the successful operational startup of the DOE’s new Biomass Cogeneration Facility in Aiken, South Carolina at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Monday’s 1:00 PM event will culminate a 30-month investment of over 600,000 labor hours to safely construct the new 34-acre renewable energy facility at SRS, under the single largest renewable Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) in the Nation’s history.
U.S. Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC); Tom D’Agostino, Under Secretary for Nuclear Security & Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration; David Huizenga, Senior Advisor for Environmental Management; Dave Moody, Manager, DOE-Savannah River; and George Sakellaris, Ameresco President and Chief Executive Officer, will participate in the ceremony.
The new high-tech Biomass Cogeneration Facility is the recent recipient of the 2012 Excellence in Renewable Energy Award for the Biomass Project of the Year as recognized by the Renewable Energy World Network of Editors. This award-winning plant replaces a deteriorating, inefficient coal powerhouse and the oil-fired boilers at SRS, and has the capacity to combust 385,000 tons of forest residue annually into 20-megawatts of clean power.
