Jordan Knauff & Company Meets with the Dominican Republic’s President Fernandez

With offices in Chicago, Illinois, and Kansas City, Missouri, Jordan Knauff & Company is a middle-market investment bank with a dedicated team working in the natural resources and renewable energy sector. In January 2011, Mr. Miguel A. Pachicano, Managing Director of the firm’s Natural Resources and Renewables practice, and other delegates from the United States were invited by His Excellency President Leonel Fernandez and other members of his cabinet to discuss possible solutions to the Dominican Republic’s low level of green/renewable energy as well as its severe municipal waste disposal problem.

As a result of rapid urbanization, solid waste management has become an environmental and social issue for most cities in the Dominican Republic. Between 6,000 and 8,000 tons of solid waste is produced each day in the country, with more than 80% coming from municipal (non-industrial) sources. According to the country’s Secretariat for Environment and Natural Resources, nearly 90% of the municipalities surveyed identified solid waste management as their top environmental priority primarily because of a lack of collection and disposal capacity. Though progress has been made by allocating funds to municipalities for landfill expansion projects and recyclables collection centers, the reality is that inadequate and unsafe disposal of waste is common.

On the power generation side, the Dominican Republic is heavily dependent on fossil technologies, with approximately 86% of its installed generation mix being fueled by coal, bunker fuel, diesel, and natural gas. Additionally, the average age of the country’s generation fleet exceeds 30 years, which coupled with poor maintenance and antiquated emission control equipment, results in pollution levels that far exceed those of developed nations.

During the meeting with President Fernandez, potential solutions to the country’s municipal waste disposal issue were discussed as well as the administration’s interest in supporting energy-from-waste initiatives. With regards to the country’s generation asset profile, plans for private and public sector initiatives were outlined for replacing older, inefficient, and polluting infrastructure over the next ten years.

“The use of energy-from-waste systems could be a very efficient and environmentally acceptable way for the Dominican Republic, as well as other countries in the Caribbean, to meet their need for both municipal waste management and increased energy production from renewable sources,” commented Mr. Pachicano. “We were extremely pleased to be a part of these discussions as the country investigates innovative ways to deal with these complex issues,” he continued.

With significant expertise in fossil fuel technology including natural gas and coal-fired generation, as well as renewable energy (wind, solar, hydro, waste-to-energy, and bio fuels), Jordan Knauff & Company’s Natural Resources and Renewables practice advises clients on project development and/or capital raising efforts for energy initiatives internationally, as well as in the United States. One of the firm’s recent transactions in the renewable energy area was the sale of wind power development portfolios in Poland totaling 775 MW, which received several “deal of the year” designations including The M&A Atlas Awards 2010 Green Energy Deal of the Year.

About Jordan, Knauff & Company
Jordan Knauff & Company is a knowledgeable and experienced provider of a comprehensive line of investment banking services to private companies. Services include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital formation, and strategic financial advisory services to companies in a variety of industries. Typical transaction sizes range from $10 million to $300 million in total consideration.

To learn more about Jordan Knauff & Company, please visit www.jordanknauff.com or contact Mr. G. Cook Jordan, Jr. at cj@jordanknauff.com or 312-254-5901.