IST Announces Release of Portable “Green Energy Machine”
Yesterday, IST Energy released the world’s first compact, mobile waste-to energy system: the GEM (Green Energy Machine). The slick-looking device converts trash into pellets that are in turn converted into electricity and gas heat. 95 percent of daily consumer waste can be dumped into the machine, including paper, plastic, wood, food, and agricultural materials.
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Since the GEM is so portable, it is ideal for locations that produce at least two tons of trash daily. A GEM unit that processes three tons of waste daily, for example, can power and heat a 200,000 square foot building containing over 500 people.
The GEM is eight feet high and covers the size of three parking spaces, so it won’t attract undue attention.
IST Energy is currently scheduling customer demonstrations, and initial deliveries will begin this summer. The GEM costs a hefty $850,000, but with a payback period of 3-4 years, it still seems like a no-brainer for large companies.
Photo Credit: IST
So it’s a portable incinerator? That doesn’t sound very green…
Indeed, this seems counter-productive and cost-ineffective. We might as well be burning trash in our fireplaces to heat our homes.
In fact, maybe I’ll invent a “green space heater” and sell it to businesses for $50,000. All you do is throw in whatever you think will burn, and voila, instant radiant heat!
Can you imagine what this could do for the slums surrounding the garbage heaps in most major cities in the developing world? The urban poor could get access to electricity and a cleaner place to live.
Doesn’t this just promote even more wastefullness? So now it ok to just throw good materials away because we can just burn it… what a crock! How really efficient is this… really?
This can be a useful tool that if used in conjuction with recylcing could help curb the use of fossil fuels for electricy. If used in togther with other technology would help make your bussiness less dependent on local utlities and increase your cost effectivness to operate.
If you understand gasification the emissions are under the EPA standards thus making it green.