Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
November 02, 2026
LOCOAL Pitches Waste-to-Energy to Texas Counties
TLDR
- LOCOAL's portable pyrolysis plant turns county waste piles into revenue and power, offering Texas officials a first-mover advantage in waste-to-energy.
- LOCOAL uses pyrolysis to heat wood waste without oxygen, producing electricity and high-purity carbon in a 50-foot module that processes 50 tons daily.
- LOCOAL helps communities eliminate fire-prone waste piles and landfills, turning environmental hazards into clean energy and valuable carbon products.
- LOCOAL's system, developed with U.S. Air Force funding, can be trucked in and set up as a power plant in just two weeks.
Impact - Why it Matters
The piles of mulch, storm debris, and tires that accumulate out of sight across Texas are more than an eyesore—they are a serious fire risk that can accelerate wildfires. LOCOAL’s portable pyrolysis technology offers counties a way to eliminate that hazard while producing electricity and a high-purity carbon product, turning a disposal cost into a revenue stream. With backing from the Air Force SBIR program and a commercial unit already in Houston, the company is positioning itself to help local governments manage waste responsibly and reduce landfill dependence. For residents, this could mean safer communities, less wildfire risk, and a more sustainable approach to waste—especially as the technology becomes available for direct federal procurement.
Summary
In a December 2025 episode of The Building Texas Show, LOCOAL co-founder and CEO Miles Murray pitched local officials on a solution to Texas’ mounting piles of mulch, storm debris, and old tires: turn them into power. Murray told host Justin McKenzie that these piles, often hidden a couple of miles off the interstate, are a fire risk, especially in dry seasons, and that the mulch market is nearly saturated, leaving material to sit for long stretches. “These become fire hazards … They can be accelerants to very large wildfires,” he said. The Houston Fire Department’s fire safety standard for wood waste processors also rates such operations as a very high hazard.
LOCOAL developed its waste-to-energy system with support from the U.S. Air Force through the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, and federal records list Phase I and Phase II awards to the company. Murray said the technology was developed under the Air Force program and that once commissioning is complete, it will be considered Phase III, allowing direct federal procurement. The first commercial unit is installed in Houston and uses pyrolysis—heating wood waste without oxygen—to produce electricity and a high-purity carbon product. Murray added that the company is also moving into rubber from tires. The unit is built to travel: a 50-foot module that can be transported on flatbed trucks, enabling a power plant to be set up in weeks and process about 50 tons of material per system per day.
Murray framed the work as a way to make landfills obsolete, turning a cost into a revenue stream and addressing skepticism about carbon markets by tracking carbon from waste source to end. The conversation marks Murray’s third appearance on the show, following episodes in 2023 and 2024. County leaders and fire officials can watch the full episode on YouTube, find more Texas stories at buildingtexasshow.com, and learn more about the technology at locoal.com.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content distributed by Newsworthy.ai. Read the original source here, LOCOAL Pitches Waste-to-Energy to Texas Counties
