Covanta on a Mission to Up-cycle Municipal Waste
Debra Fiakas, CFA The Waste Hierarchy, with energy from waste highlighted Covanta Energy (CVA: NYSE) is a champion of renewable energy. So much so that Covanta commissioned an elaborate sustainability report in 2010, detailing the company’s three-year track record in elevating municipal waste from the landfill to a higher order of use. Compliant with standards set by the Global Reporting Initiative, the report is full of choice tidbits from Covanta’s municipal waste experience - at least through the year 2009. Let’s look at 2009, the last...
10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2020: Updates on GPP, HASI, CVA
by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA
Market Decline
Last week I warned "The risks in today's stock market outweigh the possibility of future potential gains." Looks like we're seeing those risks manifest in short order. The last couple days' decline have me looking at a few stocks to start adding to my positions again, especially MiX Telematics (MIXT) discussed on June 2nd and Green Plain Partners (GPP), discussed below.
Note that this pullback could easily be very early days of a much larger market decline. We might even see the market fall far enough to test the March lows... any of my buying...
Another Look at the Algonquin Power Income Fund
Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA The Algonquin Power Income Fund (AGQNF.PK) has been one of my star performers in an excellent year. Is it still a good investment at these prices? Since I recommended the Algonquin Power Income Fund (AGQNF.PK/APF-UN.TO) in January as a renewable energy income stock for 2009, the company is up 69%, in addition to the C$0.02 monthly dividend, worth approximately another 8% through August on the US$1.82 purchase price, making it the second-best performing of my ten picks (after Cree, Inc (CREE).) However, since the major basis for my recommendation at the time was the...
Ten Solid Clean Energy Companies to Buy on the Cheap: #3 Waste Management, Inc....
In large part, the transition to clean energy will involve using our resources much more efficiently than we do now. One large potential feedstock for biofuels (and arguably the only one which is truly sustainable) is our trash. As the world economy grows, and the available stock of natural resources diminishes, society will have no choice but to use what we have more efficiently and throw less of it away. In addition to the now familiar recycling of Aluminum, glass, cardboard, paper, and plastic, yard and construction waste will find its way to cellulosic ethanol plants, and used cooking...
Will Higher Heat Content in Trash Help Waste-to-Energy Stocks?
Tom Konrad CFA The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently published an article describing an increase in the energy content of municipal solid waste (MSW). The reason for this increase is an increase in the percentage of waste from “non-biogenic” sources (i.e. plastics) as compared to biogenic sources (paper, cardboard, wood, food and yard waste, etc.) Biogenic waste has an average heat content of 11 MMBtu/ton, as compared to 23 MMBtu/ton for non-biogenic waste. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, derived from U.S. Enivoronmental Protection Agency, Municipal Solid Waste data. ...
List of Waste-to-Energy Stocks
Waste-to-energy stocks are publicly traded companies whose business involves using municipal or other waste as a feedstock to create fuel or electricity. Organic matter and plastics in a waste stream can be converted to fuel and/or electricity chemically, by means of pyrolysis, biologically such as in anaerobic digestion, or by incineration. Alternatively, energy from waste can be captured from natural processes, such as in the collection of methane gas from landfills.
This list was last updated on 6/23/2021
Active Energy Group PLC (AEG.L)
Attis Industries, Inc. (ATIS)
Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (BW)
BioHiTech Global, Inc. (BHTG)
Blue Sphere (BLSP)
Capstone Microturbine (CPST)
China Recycling Energy Corp....
Global Resource Corporation: Needed Technology; Unanswered Questions About Management
On July 3, The Energy Blog told us about a process of turning old tires back into valuable oil and gasses. Given the problems of Peak Oil and plastic waste which can mimic almost anything in the environment, I was intrigued, and I had the feeling that other watchers of the alternative energy space would be, too. After a quick review to make sure that the technology was based on sound science (I believe it is, although that is no guarantee that it can be commercialized), and a search for information about their governance policies and a board list...
Earnings Roundup: Covanta, NFI Group, Green Plains Partners
by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA
Earnings Season Continues
Below are three more updates on second quarter earnings which I've been sharing with my Patreon supporters. If you'd like to support my writing and see those thoughts in a more timely manner, consider becoming a patron. becoming a patron.
For everyone else, I'm reprinting those thoughts below.
Covanta Earnings
(published August 2nd)
Waste to energy company Covanta Holding Corp (CVA) saw most of its business recovering towards the end of the second quarter. Management is reluctant to predict if the positive trend will continue into the third quarter and for the rest of the year, but...
Covanta Rebounds
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
Waste handler Covanta Holding Company (CVA: NYSE) reported financial results for the first three months of the year at the beginning of May 2020. True enough the net loss might have been wider than published estimates for the quarter, but the consensus target did not reflect a one-time, non-cash charge for asset impairment. Indeed, Covanta’s sales climbed year-over-year to $468 million, of which $61 million was converted to operating cash flow. Waste handling is considered an essential service so Covanta operations remained at full operations even as many of its customers were subject to work stoppages and stay-at-home policies to...
Covanta and Hannon Armstrong Earnings
by Tom Konrad, Ph.D. CFA
Two more earnings notes I shared with my Patreon followers on February 18th.
Covanta Holdings (CVA)
Leading waste-to-energy firm Covanta Holdings (CVA) announced 2020 earnings today. There will be a conference call tomorrow morning, but here is my high-level impression:
The company managed well through Covid and ended the year within it's original pre-covid guidance. Metals and energy prices, as well as increased maintenance capital expenditures were a drag on results, but prices are improving and capital expenditures will fall in 2021.
The company is conducting a strategic review which will likely result in the sale of some underperforming...
Blue Sphere’s First Revenue
by Debra Fiakas CFA Blue Sphere (BLSP: OTC) is continuing to make progress in its strategic plans to build and operate biogas power plants. The company is initially targeting the largely untapped supply of organic wastes from food processing and table to meet growing demand for renewable, no– or low-carbon emission energy sources. A year ago, the company’s portfolio consisted of a string of projects all in the planning stage. Management has pushed two food waste-to-energy projects in the U.S.to the construction stage and closed on the first four acquisitions of fully operational agriculture-waste biogas power plants in...
Fiberight: A Deep-Dive Into Trash To Find Cash
by Jim Lane. Biofuels Digest
This week Fiberight secured $70 million for a municipal solid waste center that should be in operation by this May. The high-tech facility will convert 180,000 tons of trash each year from more than 100 Maine towns into biofuel at a 144,000-square-foot steel frame facility that began construction last July.
We visually profile the technology and company in our Multi-Slide Guide here.
The underlying facility is what’s known as a Dirty MRF, or materials recovery facility. That’s where the receiving happens and the sortation begins — and the process of recovering value back from the waste stream begins.
The bottom line...
Advanced biofuels pioneer Terrabon files for chapter 7 bankruptcy: One-off or trend?
Jim Lane Closely-watched green gasoline producer collapses as Waste Management (WM) declines next financing round. What does it mean for companies like Fulcrum Bioenergy, Enerkem, Agilyx, Agnion, Renmatix, Genomatica, and InEnTec? The Digest looks at the inside story. In Texas, Terrabon filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection; the company’s operations will cease and a trustee will be tasked with liquidating the company’s assets for the benefit of creditors. The complete Chapter 7 announcement is here. In a statement, Terrabon’s leadership said that company could not obtain additional corporate funding to finish developing and engineering its...
Covanta Turns Waste into Cash
Debra Fiakas, CFA The Waste Hierarchy, with energy from waste highlighted The self-styled “energy-from-waste” company Covanta Holding (CVA: NYSE) turns municipal waste into electricity and recycled metals. The operations also turned 21.9% of its revenue into cash in 2011. We note that the conversation ratio has declined over the last three years from 28.7% in 2009 and 27.2% in 2010, but we are still impressed with any cash conversion rate over 20%. The company operates forty-one mass-burn facilities around the U.S. that burn all manner...
RDX: Waste Water-to-Energy
by Debra Fiakas CFA Last week RDX Technologies, Inc. (RGDEF: OTCQX or RDX: TSXV) announced an agreement to supply renewable diesel to the Tyson Farms’ Temperanceville Facility in Virginia. The Energy Division of RDX sells three grades of methyl ester fuels that can be used in boilers and small generators. RDX did not disclose the value or size of the Tyson Farms contract. However, the contract apparently is for one year with a second year option. RDX operates renewable fuel plants in Missouri and California. Waste streams are aggregated at the two plants by truck and processed...
China Recycling Energy: Profiting From Murky Air, But How Much?
by Debra Fiakas CFA Shanghai at sunset as the sun fades into the smog. Photo source: Suicup China’s industrial pollution problems are mounting. Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) increased by 3% in 2011, reaching an all-time high of 34 billion tons. China contributed a whopping 29% of that carbon dioxide - nearly twice that of the second worst polluter, the U.S., which spit out 5.4 million tons or 16% of the total CO2 emissions. Policy makers in China have been slow to move against industrial polluters...
