Envia Energy broke ground Friday on a the first of a series of gas-to-liquids plants under development by an array of Houston-based companies, according to FuelFix.
Envia is a joint venture between Houston-based Waste Management, NRG Energy and Ventech Engineers International in conjunction with Velocys, a U.K.-based company.
According to FuelFix:
The plant will be built next to Waste Management’s East Oak landfill in Oklahoma City, marking the first step in a plan by the joint venture to develop several such plants across the United States to suck up landfill gas and combine it with natural gas to produce products including a cleaner-buring diesel, naphtha and synthetic waxes.
“Developing greater and more flexible capabilities to leverage biogas, stranded and traditional natural gas reserves and potentially captured carbon dioxide into a source for higher value, clean burning diesel fuels and other products makes sense for Americans looking for greater energy independence and cleaner energy supplies,” John Ragan, NRG’s executive vice president and Gulf Coast regional president, said in a statement.
Several haulers, including Waste Manager, operate CNG fleets in Houston. Waste Management opened a CNG fueling station in 2012. Republic Services, meanwhile, added 49 CNG trucks to its fleet in the city in 2013.