A few weeks ago, Richard Madeira found himself face to face with U.S. Energy secretary Steven Chu in Bensalem at the Clean Energy Economy Forum, the last in a series of events also held in Colorado and Michigan. Madeira, vice president of Enginuity Energy in Mechanicsburg, lamented that smaller companies have been less successful than larger companies in securing government grants and loans.
That frustration–shared by Chu, by the way–hasn’t stopped Enginuity Energy and Madeira from closing in on a revolutionary idea.
The company, which has focused on green building since it was born in early 2008, is developing regional power plants that are completely fueled by agriculture bi-products, generating enough electricity for up to about 15,000 homes. Madeira says the company is eyeing three or four locations within 50 miles of Harrisburg that are non-urban and have access to the power grid, water and roads.
“We’re making sure the infrastructure is in place,” says Madeira, who prior to coming to Enginuity developed energy conservation projects for a global technology giant. “We’re on the verge of breaking ground on our first project. We want to size the plants to be small so we can site them close to the fuel source”
The technology the company is using takes existing aspects of fuel stocks that will decompose in nature, like wood chips, chicken manure and other biproducts associated with food production. Site selection is key because it must be close to the fuel source in order to maximize efficiency. Madeira says the goal is to have at least one plant up and running within the next year.
Enginuity Energy is owned by Enginuity LLC, which has provided a host of engineering and design services for new construction and retrofits since 2002. Combined the companies employ about 66 people, and Madeira expects more hires within six months. To prepare for growth, the company recently bought a second facility and moved its service and warehousing teams there, about one-third of a mile away from its headquarters. Enginuity also utilized sustainable design (solar panels on roof, water reclamation, recycled materials).
“There’s a lot of exciting stuff in the marketplace right now,” says Madeira. “We fit into a nice niche. We kind of mix and match what we’re doing. We spend a lot of time with peers and other companies and it’s going to take more than one solution.”
Source: Rich Madeira, Enginuity Energy
Writer: Joe Petrucci