The solid waste to energy facility, or incinerator, is back in business after two fires in three months.

A local company called EnGen took over operations at the incinerator last October, promising the county the facility could turn a profit by selling the energy generated by the burning garbage.

EnGen officials have a new deal that could help them make good on that promise. The incinerator was originally built with the intent to sell the energy it produces, creating a revenue stream for the county. Now it appears the county has a new partnership with Gulf Power to sell the electricity, bringing in more money.

Mike Nelson, County Commissioner, said, "We went in knowing we wanted to negotiate with someone that would pay us more than what we were getting on the spot market, which this will be substantially more."

At the current rate for the sale of electricity the incinerator will earn $2.5 to $3 million this fiscal year. With the new agreement they would bring that up to about $5 million.

Joe Tannehill Jr. with EnGen LLC said, "Thanks to this agreement with Gulf Power we'll now be making 72.50 cents per megawatt instead of the average of $53 per megawatt. So, there's a 37 percent increase in what we're getting for the available power.

The incinerator produces 56,000 megawatts a year with expectation of increasing to 66,000 megawatts because of better equipment and more trash.

The 66,000 megawatts is enough energy to heat and cool about 7,000 homes, with a renewable source of energy for Gulf Power. The new agreement would also help incinerator pay its $3.2 million debt service each year and provide the county with extra money, exactly what EnGen planned when it took over.

County commissioners will vote on the new agreement at their budget workshop tomorrow. It will then go to the Florida Public Service Commission for approval, which could take a few of months.