Vectren sustainability project to benefit environment and economy

As part of a cross-industry sustainability project, fly ash yielded from Vectren Corporation’s (NYSE: VVC) southwestern Indiana generating stations, A.B. Brown and F.B. Culley, will be utilized by Geocycle US, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Holcim (US) Inc., for use in cement manufacturing.

Vectren signed a 10-year agreement last week to provide up to 200,000 tons of fly ash, a by-product of coal-fired generation, per year to Geocycle US starting in late 2009. To support this agreement, Vectren will partner with local contractors later the summer on a $20 million project to construct storage, conveyor and loading equipment to transport the fly ash by river barges from A.B. Brown’s plant in Posey County to Geocycle US’s facility in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.

“This is truly a win-win situation – not only for the parties involved but also for the environment and the economy,” said Niel Ellerbrook, Vectren chairman and CEO. “We consume 3 million tons of southwestern Indiana coal per year, which produces considerable amounts of fly ash that will now be used as a sustainable product in cement. This opportunity reduces the impact on the environment, in that fly ash, which would normally be stored in a landfill, now will be used to make cement.”

“Our ash is collected in electrostatic precipitators and state of the art fabric filters and is uniquely viable for this project because of the emissions control equipment we have installed that essentially produces pure fly ash suitable for making cement,” added Vice President of Power Supply Ron Jochum.

Geocycle US offers co-processing of wastes in partnership with Holcim (US), one of the country’s largest suppliers of portland and blended cements and related mineral components, to provide sustainable solutions for Vectren and other companies. Co-processing recovers the energy and mineral components of waste during the cement manufacturing process, without producing another waste.

“Geocycle US and Holcim (US) are pleased to partner with Vectren to further our commitment to sustainable development,” noted Rob Davies, Geocycle US president. “Working together, we can provide for today’s generation while protecting the environment and preserving precious resources for tomorrow.”