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Robbins Incinerator (Robbins, Illinois) | incinerator / incineration plant, abandoned / shut down

USA / Illinois / Robbins / Robbins, Illinois / South Kedzie Avenue, 13300
 incinerator / incineration plant, abandoned / shut down
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During the 1980s it became apparent to many that the nation was heading towards a garbage crisis with the increasing production of garbage far exceeding landfill capacity as a result of the lack of new landfill developments and the voicing of environmental concerns about landfill emissions. In 1980, the City of Chicago placed a moratorium on the building or expansion of landfill facilities within the city limits. Concurrent to these developments, there was increasing support for the development of waste to energy plants which produced electricity by burning garbage, thereby addressing both the problem of garbage disposal and the energy crisis.

In 1988, in response to a threatened solid waste crisis in Chicago and opposition from downstate communities which did not want Chicago's garbage, the State of Illinois passed the Retail Rate Law to encourage the building of waste to energy plants. The Law required utility companies to purchase the power generated by qualified waste to energy plants whether it was needed or not, at the retail rate paid to municipalities for electricity. This rate could be 2 to 4 times more than that paid to other power sources. The utilities would be compensated for this differential in rates through a subsidiary provided by the State.

In 1989 the Village of Robbins began discussions with Reading Energy regarding the construction of a waste to energy plant in the impoverished municipality which housed no industry and suffered from severely limited economic prospects. Although it completed much of the initial work, Reading Energy did not have the technical nor financial ability to construct the plant and by 1994 had formed a partnership with energy engineering firm Foster Wheeler entitled Robbins Resource Recovery Partners. The Village subsequently issued $385 million in Industrial Development Bonds to finance the development which would be rented from the Municipality by the partnership.

The plant was completed in early 1997 utilizing new generation advanced combustion technology processing up to 2,050 tons of municipal solid waste per day transported to the site by 200 collection and transfer trucks. Up to 1/4 of the waste was separated and recycled with the remaining solid waste burned to power two boilers which produced steam to drive a 55 MHH/h generator.

Unfortunately, months before the completion of the plant, the Illinois legislature amended the Retail Rate Law deeming the Robbins plant and other similar plants no longer qualified for the subsidy. This policy reversal came about because the anticipated garbage crises did not arise due to changes including increased recycling and composting and new packaging techniques which reduced solid waste by 19%. The shortage of landfill space also abated with the opening of many new landfills with a consequent lowing of tipping fees. As a result, of this policy change Commonwealth Edison with which the partnership had signed agreements to take the power produced from the plant based upon receiving the subsidy was no longer bound by its contract. Lower tipping fees at landfills also led to a reduction in the amount of solid waste available to the plant because it needed to charge higher fees to remain viable. In October of 2000, the facility was closed
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Coordinates:   41°38'57"N   87°42'6"W

Comments

  • Charles (guest)
    This was closed in October 2000.
  • George Charles Dircks
    I was a pipefitter on that job....helped build it....the town is already a garbage dump don't understand why its an issue to run the plant.
This article was last modified 6 months ago