ORRINGTON, Maine — The Orrington-based renewable waste facility formerly known as Penobscot Energy Recovery Company, or PERC, is under new ownership.
Eagle Point Energy Center purchased the business last month and announced plans Wednesday to restart operations in early 2025, according to a press release from EPEC spokesperson Dan Cashman.
The plant stopped accepting municipal solid waste in May, and the waste-to-energy process came to a halt in fall 2023. However, city officials said in October that about 8,000 tons of waste was piled up at the plant, and it was no longer being combusted into energy, according to a previous report.
The business went up for sale and eventually was foreclosed on, with an auction that followed after multiple delays during negotiations.
A company bought the plant in November reportedly failed to restart the plant, so it was purchased by new buyers last month, Cashman told NEWS CENTER Maine.
EPEC, the new buyers, are assessing the facility for any possible improvements needed, according to the release.
“So much has been promised regarding solid waste disposal to various communities in recent history,” Cashman said. “Eagle Point Energy Center plans to return the Orrington plant to basic operation and work with stakeholders to optimize the facility to meet the long-term needs of the region. What is most important to this company right now is the safe and efficient restart of the facility. EPEC, in conjunction with local recycling efforts, represents the only viable option for solid waste from Maine communities again to avoid being landfilled.”
Cashman said EPEC has started hiring staff to get the plant up and running again, staff that includes workers from PERC. He said the hiring process is ongoing and "will be a phased-in approach based on the timeline for restarting operations."
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated when EPEC purchased the facility. The story has been updated to reflect the correct timeline.
