CASE STUDY North American energy-from-waste (EFW) facilities are at a crossroads. Built 20 to 40 years ago, most are operating with cranes that may be at or nearing the end of their service life. The question these facilities face today is how to replace or modernize their aging cranes without disrupting service to customers or the revenue stream from the energy they produce. When the city of Quebec, Canada built its EFW plant in North America in 1974, the facility was designed to incinerate Quebec’s municipal garbage at the rate of 280,000 tons per year and generate a $10 million annual income by selling steam to a nearby pulp and paper plant. Fast-forward to 2006. The primary tools of any EFW plant are its overhead cranes, and Quebec’s two aging cranes were costing the city

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