ADA-ES Files Air Permit Application For New Activated Carbon Manufacturing Facility In North Dakota
Littleton, CO - ADA-ES, Inc. recently announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Underwood Environmental Products, LLC (UEP) filed the air permit application with the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDH) to build what would be the world's largest activated carbon (AC) production facility. The permit application covers two production lines capable of producing up to a total of 350 million pounds of AC per year. The air permit is required to begin construction of the new plant. In August, ADA-ES filed an air permit application to build a similar facility in Louisiana through another wholly-owned subsidiary, Red River Environmental Products, LLC. The permit time lines and overall business environment will dictate whether this facility in North Dakota or the Louisiana site will be chosen as the first to be built.
ADA-ES has secured the rights to acquire property in McLean County, ND adjacent to an active lignite coal mine, which is expected to provide the primary raw material for the manufacturing process, thereby minimizing transportation of the coal needed to produce AC. In this regard, ADA-ES is negotiating a coal supply agreement with the mine.
The Company has made significant progress with its plans to develop AC production plants, enabling the project to stay on schedule to meet the anticipated increased demand for AC, which the Company predicts will reach an additional 400 million pounds per year by 2010, and up to a billion pounds per year by 2012 to 2015. Recent awards of contracts to ADA-ES, including 15 systems announced in the past two weeks (if all options included in these contracts are exercised) to inject AC at power plants for mercury control continue to validate the projected size of this market. Obtaining the operating permits and securing financing in the first quarter of 2008 would allow ADA-ES to begin construction at that time, enabling AC production to meet anticipated 2010 market timing. ADA-ES recently announced the engagement of Credit Suisse to advise on the raising of debt and equity for the capital project.
These large-scale production facilities are being designed to maximize efficiency and produce the most cost-effective AC product for the mercury control market. In addition, ADA-ES believes the facility will be the most environmentally friendly AC production plant ever built.
ADA-ES' first production line is expected to produce enough AC annually to reduce mercury emissions at approximately 10% of current U.S. coal-fired generating capacity. ADA-ES will continue to evaluate the market for the AC product, and will use that information to determine the timing for additional plants needed to meet this market. Upon completion of its first facility, ADA-ES anticipates that it will assume a leadership role in the manufacture of AC for mercury reduction in the coal-fired power industry.
A project of this size will capitalize on the Company's position as a market leader in providing mercury control equipment and engineering services for utilities operating coal-fired boilers. By maintaining its construction schedule, the Company expects to synchronize production of AC with the expected growth in the AC market. Because of the advanced stage of this project, ADA-ES is currently marketing long-term supply contracts for this critical component for reducing mercury emissions from coal-fired boilers. The Company is also negotiating with strategic partners in the energy industry to provide equity and strengthen the financial resources of the project team.
SOURCE: ADA-ES, Inc.