[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 7838] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]IN RECOGNITION OF GILLS ONIONS' GRAND CONCEPTOR AWARD ______ HON. ELTON GALLEGLY of california in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 11, 2010 Mr. GALLEGLY. Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of Gills Onions, a Ventura County, California, company recently awarded the Grand Conceptor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), considered the Academy Awards for engineering. Gills Onions, owned by Steve and David Gill, teamed with HDR Engineering to develop a groundbreaking waste-to-energy system fueled solely from onions. Gills Onions and HDR were chosen from a field of eight finalists selected from among 163 projects worldwide. ACEC represents more than 5,600 engineering firms throughout the United States. Other finalists included the new $1.3 billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the Sea-to-Sky Highway project in British Columbia, Canada. Gills Onions hired HDR Engineering to develop the Advanced Energy Recovery System (AERS), which converts 200,000 pounds of daily onion waste (peels, stems, and tops) into biogas. The biogas, in turn, powers 300-kilowatt fuel cells to supply plant operations. Gills Onions is the world's largest processor of fresh-cut onions and distributes them across the nation. AERS satisfies 60 percent of Gills Onions' annual power needs--an estimated $1.1 million savings. In addition to increased energy independence, AERS has allowed Gills Onions to eliminate a waste stream, reduce its operational costs and provide a smaller carbon footprint. The combination of the energy produced, cost savings generated and grant funding achieved by the project will result in a full payback in less than six years. Madam Speaker, I know my colleagues will join me congratulating Steve and David Gill and Gills Onions for being awarded the Grand Conceptor Award and for their out-the-box thinking that has possibly revolutionized how food processing waste is treated. ____________________