Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Tacoma refuse fired combustor study for the City of Tacoma, Washington

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5051704
The study examines the feasibility of using refuse-derived fuels and other municipal wastes to fire a central energy plant to meet the heating and cooling needs of Tacoma, Washington, with the possibility of marketing steam and/or electricity as a by-product. A description of the present central heating system is described and the present and future markets of energy in the central business district and the adjacent industrial area are discussed. Technical aspects of the combustor systems and energy distribution systems are reported. Three possible locations for a central energy plant are identified and descriptions of the sites are given. The availability of waste fuels, focusing on hog fuel and refuse-derived fuels, is discussed. The potential environmental impacts on air, water, and land are reviewed. A technical description of the ten alternative central energy plant designs, their associated distribution systems, and an economic analysis of each are detailed. The financing alternatives, ownership and operation alternatives, and implementation alternatives for a new central energy plant are discussed. Possible methods of energy facility ownership, with details of necessary agreements applicable for municipal participation, are reviewed. (MCW)
Research Organization:
Durham, Anderson, Freed/HDR, Seattle, WA (USA)
OSTI ID:
5051704
Report Number(s):
NP-2901408; ON: DE82901408
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English