Making an impact

Impact Bioenergy Inc., based in Seattle, began offering distributed, prefabricated, on-site options to convert food waste to energy in the second half of 2013. Its initial focus is in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. President Jan Allen reports the company is currently in negotiations with initial partners to build reference facilities.

Impact Bioenergy is singularly focused on locally converting food waste and its costs into assets in the form of renewable energy to offset purchased energy or vehicle fuel, as well as valuable organic matter to return to the earth to grow food. Allen provides further insight into Impact Bioenergy’s focus areas and future plans in the following interview.
 

Q: What energy sectors or processes do you specialize in?

A: We are focused on urban, micro-grid, on-site opportunities with cities, colleges, restaurant clusters, corporate campuses, islands, casinos, correctional facilities, military bases and low impact residential developments. These facilities generate food waste, can use the renewable energy and have landscapes or partners that can use the organic matter after digestion.
 

Q: What makes you different from your competitors?

A: We are unique in the following areas:

• domestically sourced equipment;
• prefabricated for quick deployment;
• architecturally exciting;
• exceptional odor control;
• low-risk technology;
• low capital and operating costs;
• packaged with combined heat and power (CHP) or compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle fuel; and
• the ability to integrate contaminant removal, composting and drying.
   

Q: Where do you see your company five years from now?

A: We want to build a community of on-site operators that will create a new industry that does not rely on trucking waste out and trucking food in at these locations. High disposal costs, high energy costs or sustainability goals are key drivers.