Dec 22 2009
Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA), announced today that its subsidiary, Covanta Honolulu Resource Recovery Venture, has amended its existing service agreement with the City and County of Honolulu, HI to include its activities as the designer, builder and operator of a $302 million expansion of the H-POWER Energy-from-Waste facility in Honolulu, HI.
The 900 ton per day (TPD) expansion project, which will be funded and owned by the City and County, will increase the facility's capacity by approximately 40%. Furthermore, the agreement extends Covanta's tenure as the facility's operator for 20 years upon the start of commercial operation of the expanded facility, which is expected to occur in 24 to 34 months.
The H-POWER facility serves as an integral component of the comprehensive solid waste management program of the City and County of Honolulu. "Covanta has provided exemplary service to the City since the beginning," said Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann. "Their staff's dedication and strong management skills have helped make H-POWER a major success and we're very confident that adding this third boiler will be a major success for everyone."
When the new unit comes on line, it will provide Honolulu with additional disposal capacity for the municipal solid waste generated by 850,000 residents and six million visitors to the island of Oahu each year. Overall processing capacity will be increased to 900,000 tons per year.
"We are delighted that the City and County of Honolulu have elected to continue our long-standing partnership by engaging us in this important expansion project and extending our role as the operator of this premier facility. Their decision reinforces the important role that Covanta and energy-from-waste play in Oahu's solid waste management efforts," said Seth Myones, President of Covanta Americas. "Upon completion, H-POWER's expanded capacity will minimize the need for landfilling to help preserve land on this beautiful island, while also providing residents with additional clean, renewable energy to reduce their dependence on imported oil."
After the expansion, H-POWER's output will constitute approximately 84 megawatts, representing six percent of the island's electricity, a major contribution to Oahu's goal of becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy production. On an annual basis, the expanded facility will offset the need to burn nearly one million barrels of oil. In addition to those environmental benefits, the expansion will also provide a much needed boost to the local economy, generating approximately 300 construction jobs as well as additional jobs to operate and maintain the facility once completed.
Source: http://www.covantaholding.com/