BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 10, 2021
As a Pennsylvania company comes closer to purchasing a shuttered waste plant in Hampden, experts and some who have worked with the company say its novel technology has potential. Delta Thermo has been negotiating to purchase the $90 million plant for several months, with a deal expected by the end of June that could determine how 115 Maine towns and cities dispose of their waste for years to come. If it closes the deal, it would be the company’s first time running a full-scale waste processing plant in the U.S. Robert Van Naarden, CEO of Delta Thermo Energy, has touted Delta Thermo’s work overseas, but it appears he exaggerated Delta Thermo’s role in at least one of those projects. Also, Delta Thermo lists a Technical Advisory Board on its website that includes five of the nation’s top academic experts in waste to energy. However, one of them said he hadn’t heard of Delta Thermo, much less agreed to serve on a board. Another said he hadn’t been in contact with the company in nearly a decade.