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Eco Material Technologies, a South Jordan, Utah-based producer of sustainable cementitious materials (SCMs) and cement replacement products, has entered an agreement with Georgia Power to harvest millions of tons of landfilled ash from Plant Branch, a coal-fired power plant that was decommissioned in 2015.
Under the agreement, Eco Material will harvest approximately 600,000 tons of landfilled ash per year from the plant in Putnam County, Georgia. The effort will remove and beneficially use more than 8 million tons of fly ash over a 15-year term, the companies say.
The Branch project will be the second fly ash harvesting plant in the state of Georgia, following an announcement by Eco Material and Atlanta-based Georgia Power last year for Plant Bowen, and will utilize Eco Material’s in-house ES EcoSystem Efficient Carbon Offloading technology. Construction of the fly ash harvesting plant at Plant Bowen has already begun and is expected to begin harvesting ash for processing by 2024.
According to Eco Material, the ES EcoSystem Efficient Carbon Offloading technology is a proprietary solution that offers a “lower-cost and greener process” to reduce high carbon content in landfilled and ponded coal ash, bringing it up to the required specification for use in concrete and other building materials.
The ash from Plant Branch will be used in concrete blends to repair and construct bridges, roads and buildings in Georgia and Florida.
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Plant Branch will be the fourth ash harvesting and beneficiation facility operated by Eco Material and will add to the company’s portfolio of SCM projects. Once the Plant Branch project is complete, Eco Material says it will have over 3 million tons per annum of novel, beneficiated SCMs to help decarbonize the North American concrete market.
“Our partnership with Georgia Power through the Plant Branch project should be a model for the rest of the country on how to efficiently reuse stored coal ash in a way that positively benefits the construction industry, local communities and the environment,” says Grant Quasha, CEO of Eco Material Technologies. “By doubling our output in Georgia and utilizing our ES EcoSystem Efficient Carbon Offloading technology, the Plant Branch facility will help meet the need for high-quality, near-zero carbon SCMs and utilize ash for productive use.”
Eco Material says the ash harvested from Plant Branch has been proven to enhance the strength, impermeability and durability of concrete. In common practice, the material will replace 20-25 percent of Portland cement in concrete mixes.
The Branch project is being facilitated with assistance from the Putnam Development Authority (PDA), which has provided incentives to Eco Material to encourage fast-track development of the Branch project.
“The Putnam Development Authority is proud to be able to assist in adaptive reuse of the Plant Branch site and resources by Eco Material,” says Walter C. Rocker III, chairman of PDA. “Eco Material’s plan to work with Georgia Power to bring new, high-quality jobs and significant investment to our community represents a turning point toward reinvigorating the former Plant Branch site as an economic driver for our community.”
