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Harvest Power

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Harvest Power
Company typePrivate
IndustryRecycling, alternative energy, soil, mulch
Founded2008
Defunct2021
HeadquartersWaltham, Massachusetts
Area served
Canada and the United States
Key people
Mark Weidman, CEO
Paul Sellew, founder
Websiteharvestpower.com

Harvest Power, Inc. was a privately held organics management company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States that specializes in converting food waste and yard waste into biofuel, compost, mulch and fertilizer.[1][2] In 2014 Fast Company named it one of the most innovative companies in the world.[3] In August of 2020 Harvest Power Orlando ceased operations for unknown reasons and all assets were put up for sale;[citation needed] the company was dissolved in April 2021.[4]

History

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The company was founded by Paul Sellew in 2008.[1] It initially received venture funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Waste Management, Inc., and later from True North Venture Partners, Industry Ventures, Generation Investment Management, DAG Ventures and others.[5][6][7] As of February 2014, the company operated 40 facilities in North America[2] including bioenergy facilities, yard waste drop-off and soil- and-mulch pick-up depots for landscapers, contractors and homeowners, and bagging facilities. In 2014 Kathleen Ligocki took the position of CEO of the company.[8] Its revenue in 2013 was, according to Ligocki, $130 million.[9] In 2015, the company was ranked by Waste360 as the 29th largest waste and recycling firm based on 2014 revenues.[10]

Approach

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Harvest Power's services are cited as a model for a circular economy of converting food waste into energy and nutrient-rich soil products.[11] Food waste specifically has been identified by cities and businesses as an untapped resource that – if diverted from landfills – can be used for clean energy and soil revitalization.[12][13] As examples, New York City's strategy to build more digesters has been called the "brown energy movement",[14] the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) set the goal to divert 450,000 tons of food waste a year from landfills and incinerators,[15] and California and other states are co-digesting food waste at sewage treatment plants.[16]

Facilities

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In 2013, Harvest Power began operations of three anaerobic digesters in North America. First, in Reedy Creek Improvement District of Orlando, Florida, food waste from Walt Disney World was an early input.[2] As of September 2015, the facility was accepting 100 tons of food waste daily.[17] The biogas produced by the facility fuels a 7-megawatt combined heat and power plant[18] helping reduce waste going to landfills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[19] In British Columbia, the company opened the largest commercial scale high-solids anaerobic digester in North America that processes food scraps mixed with yard trimmings from the lower mainland.[20] The facility recycles food waste that the regional government Metro Vancouver ultimately banned from landfills in January 2015.[21][22] Third, in London, Ontario, the company opened a food waste digester to serve food waste processors, supermarkets, restaurants, and other commercial generators.[23]

In addition to bioenergy facilities, the company sold soils, mulches, and fertilizers at retail outlets such as Lowe's, The Home Depot, Walmart and independent garden centers.[24][25]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Company Overview of Harvest Power, Inc". Business Week. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  2. ^ a b c "Plant turns Disney food scraps into electricity". Orlando Sentinel. 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  3. ^ "43. Harvest Power. For Realizing the Awesome Might of Food Waste". Fast Company. 2014-02-10. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  4. ^ "Articles of Dissolution". Florida Division of Corporations. 2021-04-27.
  5. ^ Yuliya Chernova (2012-04-12). "Seeing Value In Trash, Harvest Power Raises $110M". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  6. ^ "Renewable Energy Firm Harvest Power Raises $52 Million To Turn Waste Into Fuel". Forbes. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  7. ^ Dan Primack (2012-04-12). "Venture Capital Deals". Fortune. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  8. ^ Regan, Keith. "WomenUp: Kathleen Ligocki of Harvest Power Inc." Boston Business Journal, 11 April 2014. Web. 21 April 2014(subscription required)
  9. ^ "Harvest Power to get new CEO from Kleiner Perkins; replaces founder Paul Sellew". Boston Business Journal. 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  10. ^ "2015 Waste 100". Waste360. 2015-06-24. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  11. ^ Marc Gunther (2014-10-17). "Disney World's biogas facility: a model for converting food waste into energy". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  12. ^ Steve Curwood (2013-09-20). "Power Shift - Energy From Food Scraps". Living on Earth. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  13. ^ Joel Rose (2014-03-11). "Turning Food Waste Into Fuel Takes Gumption and Trillions of Bacteria". NPR. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  14. ^ Nick Stockton (2013-12-20). "Here's how NYC is going to start turning its food scraps into power". scienceline. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  15. ^ Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (2014-01-20). "Proposed Food Waste Ban Will Support Anaerobic Digestion and Tap into a Hidden Source of Energy". Mass.gov. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  16. ^ Rachel Cernansky (2014-06-26). "On Front Lines of Recycling, Turning Food Waste into Biogas". Yale Environment 360. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  17. ^ "Could your child's uneaten broccoli help provide electricity?". Fortune. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  18. ^ "Harvest Power organics-to-energy facility on line in Fla". Biomass World. 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  19. ^ Gina-Marie Cheeseman (2015-03-23). "Disney Vanquishes Greenhouse Gas Emissions". Triple Pundit. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  20. ^ Pete Danko (2013-09-11). "North America's largest "commercial digester" turns pizza crusts to energy: Energy Garden in Canada can convert 40,000 tons of waste a year into clean energy and compost". Salon. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  21. ^ CBC News (2014-12-15). "Food waste disposal rules go into effect in Metro Vancouver Jan 1". CBC News. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  22. ^ Jon Azpiri (2015-07-01). "What happens to Metro Vancouver food scraps". Global News. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  23. ^ Peter Gorrie (2013-09-01). "Dedicated Food Waste Digester Opens In Ontario". BioCycle. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  24. ^ Glenn Meyers (2015-02-05). "Harvest Power Rebuilds Topsoil And Produces Energy With The Process". Clean Technica. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  25. ^ Todd Major (2013-03-06). "Get the dirt on topsoils". North Shore News. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
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