PacifiClean Environmental, a young subsidiary of Spokane-based SRM Development LLC, has at least four organic-waste processing projects in the works around the U.S., including a $24 million facility near Ellensburg.

The subsidiary also plans to build a $6 million to $7 million organic waste digester on 10 acres just east of Spokane's waste-to-energy plant by this fall or next spring, says Larry Condon, who heads the division. He says the digester will be designed to generate electricity and renewable natural gas.

"We're working on an easement agreement with the city," Condon says, adding that PacifiClean has an agreement to lease 10 acres from Spokane International Airport. "We haven't vetted out who our partner will be in that yet, but we're working with interested parties."

In addition, Condon says PacifiClean is developing plans for projects in Maui and near Oakland, Calif. Condon previously was general manager of Barr-Tech LLC's organic processing facility 22 miles southwest of Spokane, but he was fired last year following what he says was a dispute over Barr-Tech's ownership. Barr-Tech is owned by Ted Condon, Condon's brother, and Jack Gillingham.

Larry Condon says PacifiClean's first large-scale project is planned about 15 miles northwest of Ellensburg on 170-plus acres that a limited liability company formed by PacifiClean has bought, and he expects the company to break ground there next spring. He says the division is working with a partner that is a "major waste hauler," but he declines to disclose the partner's name due to a nondisclosure agreement. He also declines to disclose the amount paid to buy the property.

He says PacifiClean, which was founded eight months ago, has a business model to reduce clients' waste handling and disposal costs by helping them build organic-processing facilities that create multiple byproducts to generate a revenue stream. Condon says the processing facility near Ellensburg will produce renewable natural gas, electricity, and different grades of composted fertilizer for agricultural use.

"It will serve a market for high-end agricultural users such as orchards and vineyards," he says. "We're purposely located right at the crossroads, where you can go north to Wenatchee, south to Yakima, and we can service the Columbia River Gorge."

The fertilizer products will include pellets, spreadable dry material, and liquids, he says.

He adds, "The majority of the organic material will come out of King County but also Central Washington's organic waste, yard waste, commercial food waste, industrial waste," from major food-processing companies, he says.

He says the project, currently under environmental review, will be built on about 20 acres at the site for processing up to 250,000 tons of organic waste per year for a first phase, then up to 400,000-plus tons annually in a second phase. The first phase is estimated at $12 million to $14 million and expected to employ between 25 and 30 people.

"This project is progressing probably three times faster than we anticipated," he adds. "We knew there was a need; we just underestimated how great the need was."

The subsidiary plans to seek state and private funding, plus contracts, to receive organic material, including up to $2 million in loans and grants to build the digester and fueling stations. Kittitas County and economic development leaders plan to assist in securing grants.

The heat and carbon dioxide generated at the site from the processing operation also will support year-round agriculture in a 3-acre greenhouse to grow organic food for markets in King County, Condon says.

Another byproduct of the digester process is methane, which can be used to operate a gas-fired turbine that will generate electricity used at the plant. Any excess power will be sold into Puget Sound Energy's power distribution system, Condon adds.

The methane byproduct and a fuel pumping station at the plant also will be able to fuel large trucks that use both diesel and renewable natural gas. Condon says plans call for working with companies to convert large fleets of trucks to use renewable natural gas. As an example, he says one Kittitas County company uses 160 trucks a day to haul Timothy hay from the Ellensburg area to the Port of Seattle, and would be a potential client.

The facility will process organic materials in containers and covered areas to minimize odors and maximize the composting process, Condon says. The facility is designed so that initial processing of organic materials is done at the center of the plant, and materials then are conveyed to different zones in a four-quadrant arrangement, depending on what byproduct is being produced.

Condon says the site also will have an anaerobic digester designed by Washington State University professors and the Andgar Corp., a Ferndale, Wash., company.

Meanwhile, PacifiClean, in partnership with Colorado-based EKO Compost Inc., is working with the county of Maui on a project to upgrade an existing facility and add a digester to handle 50,000 tons of organic material per year, Condon says. A start date for construction is still being discussed, Condon adds, but the project is estimated to cost $6 million to $8 million.

"They're looking to upgrade their facility and partner with us to do this," he says. "The state of Hawaii is attempting to become self-sufficient in terms of handling waste, and this allows it to divert a greater percentage of waste to organic processing. They need fertilizer in Hawaii; there is a lot of agriculture."

Similar processing facilities can be scaled to size depending on a community's needs, he says, adding that the division plans to build, manage, and operate plants in partnership with waste management companies.

The Oakland-area project is in the planning stages and is proposed on about a 40-acre portion of a 1,800-acre site owned by an interested partner company, he says.

"We have the land right now; we need to work on partners," he says. "We're working with a regional hauler outside Oakland, and the facility will be similar to Ellensburg, but larger scale, or there potentially could be multiple facilities in Oakland, L.A., and Sacramento."

He adds that a facility near Oakland would be a multiyear project and probably won't get off the ground until 2014 or 2015.

Condon says he considers the proposed Oakland project and the facility in Central Washington to be more sophisticated in design and processing ability, than typical organic composting operations that may create one product, such as compost, to sell to one market. That byproduct often ends up being stored for long periods if it can't be sold right away.

"It's really easy to compost, but what you need is organic processing," Condon says. "You need to make multiple products and have multiple revenue streams to remain sustainable."

Although he is PacifiClean's only dedicated employee, Condon says he has several staff and support services he can tap at SRM Development, which is located at 111 N. Post downtown.

Spokane-based Barr-Tech has a 40-acre, $14 million organic-processing facility in rural Lincoln County that is similar in concept to the types of facilities Condon now is pursuing through SRM. The Barr Regional Bio-Industrial Park is located 22 miles from the Spokane area, which is where it plans to draw the majority of its feedstock.