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Garbage to energy plant for Big Island
#1
Under the contract awarded to Wheelabrator by Big Island Finance Director William Takaba, the incinerator would be built near the existing Hilo landfill and would be completed in about four years. It would generate about 3.5 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power about 3,500 homes. HILO, Hawai'i — One of the most expensive public works projects in Big Island history was awarded to a Houston firm yesterday that has been vying to build a garbage-to-energy incinerator for the county similar to O'ahu's H-Power plant.

The $125 million facility would be designed, built and operated by Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. and would burn about 230 tons of trash or about 40 percent of the solid waste generated on the island each day. That rubbish now goes into the Hilo landfill, which is nearly full and is expected to close in about four years.

The proposed plant would be a fraction of the size of the H-Power plant in Campbell Industrial Park, which burns about 2,000 tons of trash a day.

Under the contract awarded to Wheelabrator by Big Island Finance Director William Takaba, the incinerator would be built near the existing Hilo landfill and would be completed in about four years. It would generate about 3.5 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power about 3,500 homes.[8D]

The contract must be approved by the Hawai'i County Council, which is expected to hold public hearings before voting.

Bobby Jean Leithead Todd, director of the county Office of Environmental Management, said she expects the council will weigh the cost of the incinerator against other options such as hauling the trash across the island to the Pu'uanahulu landfill in North Kona, sending the trash off the island on barges, or building a new landfill in the Hilo area.

"I think the issues are going to be price, and also addressing anyone's concerns over the technology," Leithead Todd said. "I think people here, because they have not lived with H-Power, probably have some concerns."

Leithead Todd said the large up-front cost of the plant needs to be balanced against its potential income in a community with some of the highest electricity rates in the nation. The power produced by the plant would also reduce imports of diesel fuel by about 19,000 barrels a year, she said.

"Once we've paid for the facility, the fact that it produces revenue in terms of electricity sales is going to profoundly impact the bottom line," Leithead Todd said. "It will be like H-Power has proved for Honolulu in the sense that at some point in time it starts to generate revenue because of the electricity sales."http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/.../hawaii803050441.html
There is already a petition to oppose this project!
Please,
Read this before supporting the petition
Here's the facts that you need to know about this type Incinerator http://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?mid=wsdps
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#2
http://bigislandnow.com/2014/04/30/compa...r-on-oahu/

Wheelabrator Technologies is a subsidiary of Waste Management, both have a history of repeated pollution violations and fines.

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#3
Curious why you are posting an old story from 2008 ???
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#4
My understanding is that the dumb thing is up for consideration again. I guess my biggest question is what happens to the 60% of the waste which remains unburned? There doesn't seem to be a solution to that either. So, we save the cost of trucking 40% of the waste across island. Is this amount any where near equal to the cost of the proposed incinerator?
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#5
I have seen many of these in use - what is not burned to create energy is recycled - or landfill - anything to reduce the volume of the trash and create energy is a plus in my book. On the downside - the plants release dioxin .... best to stay upwind......
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#6
what happens to the 60% of the waste which remains unburned?

Tax dollars pay triple; the other 40% is a bargain at merely double.

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#7
?
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#8
This world is so crazy. I try so hard to reduce the amount of 'stuff' I have and the amount I throw away. Still I have lots of 'stuff', and lots of garbage. I wonder what would happen if we simply closed the land fill? Made people responsible for their own rubbish? Do you think people would stop buying rubbish to throw away?

#10048;
#10048;
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#9
If HEI is the largest private company in Hawaii, and waste disposal is a profitable enterprise, why is the County fronting the construction cost?

Put another way, if this thing is built, who exactly will benefit from the "reduced import of diesel fuel" and/or the "3.5MW of electricity"? Taxpayers? Certain well-placed individuals? HELCO? If it's just "solid waste disposal", will that be a "free" service paid for with the byproducts, or will County seek to charge us tipping fees to cover the construction cost?
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#10
This OP should be closed and locked, it is from years ago. That OP post is an example of Puna rubbish.

How do so many dysfunctional people find their way to Puna and Punaweb?

This is the status, as of June 2014. The contract hasn't been awarded and it won't be awarded until 2015.
quote:
http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-ne...top-choice
The county next drafts a second RFP, limited to the three finalists. This one, expected to be issued July 15, will be much more detailed. An award will be announced in January, according to the county’s timeline.

Go ahead and ignore the facts, as usual. Let the babel-thon commence. Carry on laughing.

"This island Hawaii on this island Earth"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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