The 900 ton per day expansion project, which will be funded and owned by the city and county, will increase the facility’s capacity by approximately 40%. The agreement also 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.
Mufi Hannemann, mayor of Honolulu, said : “Covanta has provided exemplary service to the City since the beginning. 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.
After the expansion, H-Power’s output will constitute approximately 84MW, representing 6% of the island’s electricity. On an annual basis, the expanded facility will offset the need to burn nearly one million barrels of oil, Covanta said.
