Covanta's Honolulu Waste to Energy Plant Expanded to 90 MW

10 October 2012 New Jersey based waste to energy specialist, Covanta Energy (NYSE: CVA) completed work to expand the H-POWER Energy from Waste (EfW) facility, owned by the City and County of Honolulu, to 90 MW. Covanta said that it designed, built and operates the facility, which is an integral component of the City and County's comprehensive solid waste management program. The expansion added a third boiler, which the company said increases the facility's capacity by 900 tons (816 tonnes) of municipal solid waste per day. Total daily capacity for the plant has now risen to some 3000 tons (2720 tonnes), which Covanta said allows it to now process all of the island's post-recycled municipal solid waste at the facility, diverting waste from landfills. The expansion will also enable the facility to produce approximately 90 mw of energy (gross generation) - close to 8% of Oahu's total power needs. "The completed project brings a multitude of benefits including increased diversion of waste from landfills, reduction of greenhouse gases, more renewable energy and new jobs that will make a significant impact on Oahu's economy and energy independence," explained Seth Myones, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Covanta. According to Covanta the facility will also help Oahu become more energy independent by eliminating the need for one million barrels of imported oil and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by almost one million tons each year due to the avoidance of methane from landfills, the offset of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel electrical production and the recovery of metals for recycling. "By reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and creating energy from trash, H-POWER benefits the City environmentally and financially," said Mayor Peter Carlisle. "With the third boiler, we can now divert even more opala from the landfill and continue to emphasize more recycling." Covanta said that it began operating the H-POWER facility in 1990 and that the completed expansion project also marks the commencement of a new 20 year operating agreement with the City and County. According to the company in 22 years of operation, the facility has processed more than 13 million tons (11.8 million tones) of waste, reduced the need for 15 million barrels of imported oil, saved 500 hundred acres of land otherwise used for landfills and recovered 450,000 tons (408,000 tonnes) of metals for recycling - the equivalent of four aircraft carriers. Free Magazine Subscription Free Email Newsletter