5:18 p.m. EST, January 9, 2012
After five years of work, Orlando officials and their private-sector partners think they've succeeded in developing the technology to convert human waste byproducts into clean energy.
Under a 2007 agreement, city workers spent years and $8.5 million building a test reactor capable of breaking down the sludge of microorganisms left over from the sewage-treatment process. The reactor produces also produces enough heat to generate electricity.
A Wellington company called SuperWater Solutions provided the technology ? known as "supercritical water oxidation" ? and Orlando paid for the construction of the system and helped figure out how to make it work.
City administrators said fine-tuning of the test reactor is finished and the technology works, so the City Council on Monday voted to turn over the reactor to SuperWater Solutions. The company is looking for investors and working to market the process on a commercial scale.
Under the agreement, SuperWater Solutions will pay the city $1 million for the test reactor. The city will also receive royalties of $2.60 for every ton of waste the company treats at plants it hopes to build around the world, a deal worth an estimated $62 million to the city over 20 years.
Commissioner Phil Diamond wanted the royalty amount tied to inflation: "The price might seem fair now, but in 15 to 20 years, it might not seem so fair."
But city administrators said the city didn't partner with the company to make money. Rather, the city has been looking for a way to dispose of its sewage sludge. It's currently spread on pastureland.
"We're not only getting rid of costs, but we're making money from poop. That's a good thing," Commissioner Patty Sheehan said.
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