POWER March 2013 - 30

FUELS
Courtesy: Covanta Energy
Expanded Honolulu WTE Plant
Delivers Triple Benefits for Oahu
Covanta Energy and the City and County of Honolulu recently completed a $300 million
expansion of a 20-year-old waste-to-energy (WTE) facility. The plant is now capable
of processing up to 3,000 tons of municipal refuse daily, recycling all the metals,
and generating up to 90 MW-enough to supply nearly 10% of Oahu's electricity.
By Dr. Robert Peltier, PE
O
ahu or " The Gathering Place " is the
most populated of the islands in the
State of Hawaii with just under one
million permanent residents. Aptly named, the
island hosts up to six million visitors each year
who expect fun in the sun and a swim in clear
ocean waters. One reason the island remains
a tourist paradise-its pristine beauty-can
be attributed to the solid waste, recycling, and
energy management programs designed by the
City and County of Honolulu.
High population density on an island
of less than 600 square miles leaves little
open space for new development, and setting
aside space for a new landfill is out of
the question, so the million tons of solid
waste produced each year pose a significant
concern. The island is also searching
for new sources of electricity, because the
State of Hawaii has no indigenous fossil
fuel resources. Historically, electricity was
generated by burning imported liquid fuels
30
from the mainland and elsewhere. Today,
there is a rapidly growing biofuels industry
plus geothermal, photovoltaic, and
wind energy plants offsetting imported
liquid fuels. There's also one of the largest
and most flexible waste-to-energy (WTE)
plants in the U.S. The Honolulu Program
of Waste Energy Recovery, or H-POWER,
located on a 28-acre site in Kapolei, is the
cornerstone of the City and County of Honolulu's
long-term efforts to reduce fuel
oil imports, significantly reduce the volume
of landfilled materials, and recycle
metals found in solid waste (Figure 1).
H-POWER entered service in 1990 and
is owned by the City and County of Honolulu
(which encompasses the entire island).
It has been operated since 1993 by
Covanta Energy Corp. On Oct. 9, 2012,
the 900-ton-per-day expansion that pushed
plant capability up to 90 MW was dedicated.
According to City and County of
www.powermag.com
POWER | March 2013
1. Expanded facility. The new Boiler 3 is
shown in the center of the photo. The existing
refuse-derived fuel Boilers 1 and 2 are behind
Boiler 3 in the enclosed building shown in the
photo. The two steam turbines are housed in
another enclosed building behind Boilers 1 and
2. The plant is capable of processing 3,000 tons
per day of municipal solid waste, producing up
to 90 MW, and recycling all of the entering ferrous
and nonferrous metals. A time-lapse video
of the construction can be viewed at www
.youtube.com/watch?v=NdxKLu2c-Hg. Courtesy:
Covanta Energy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdxKLu2c-Hg http://www.powermag.com
POWER March 2013

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