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Committee funds grease-to-energy pilot, authorizes expansion up to $450,000
Summary
The committee approved $200,000 to launch a pilot collecting "brown grease" from restaurants for conversion to renewable fuel, and authorized up to an additional $250,000 to expand installations if the pilot demonstrates scale potential.
The Innovation and Performance committee approved a $200,000 appropriation to launch the "Four to Field" grease recovery pilot and authorized up to $250,000 additional for geographic expansion if warranted.
Karina Afwork, identified in the record as an environmental engineer in the city—s waste management division, presented the pilot plan and said it would begin with up to 20 restaurants to test automated grease-removal devices intended to capture high-quality brown grease that could be converted into biofuels. Afwork said the pilot will compare passive grease traps and newer automatic removal devices, measure yields from different restaurant types and assess whether a local market (World Energy and others were mentioned) would pay for the collected feedstock.
The committee and presenters discussed site selection criteria (restaurant size and activity level, eligibility exclusions for restaurants with large underground interceptors), expected unit costs and pilot scale. Afwork said unit costs vary by device maker; she cited a range with a lower bound around $3,500 and average near $5,000 per installation, and she described the pilot as intentionally small. Speakers raised concerns about permitting and construction-review costs and whether the pilot contained enough installations to reach a critical collection mass for buyers. One committee member proposed authorizing expansion authority to add more installations quickly if the pilot shows promise.
The committee—s recommendation approved the $200,000 transfer from Innovation Fund 105-10 to the Bureau of Sanitation (department 556-50, account 569303) and added authorization for the Bureau to seek an additional $250,000 to expand the number of installations in identified neighborhoods. The recommendation required the Bureau of Sanitation to separately monitor and report innovation-fund spending and to report back to the Innovation and Performance Commission on fund accounting, lessons learned and obstacles. Presenters mentioned interest from World Energy as a potential recipient of the collected feedstock; the committee did not commit specific off-take agreements in committee.
Councilmember Rodríguez and Councilmember Bloomenfield recorded votes in favor; the measure passed in committee.
