By Staff Reports
(HONOLULU) – The City and County of Honolulu’s H-POWER, overseen by the Department of Environmental Services (ENV), earned the 2023 Facility Excellence Award from the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). SWANA will present the award at its annual conference in Atlanta April 17-20.
“Converting opala to energy, eliminating the need for one million barrels of imported oil every year, and generating revenue through energy sales to HECO and metals recovery make H-POWER a vital to the city’s sustainable future,” Roger Babcock, ENV director, said. “H-POWER is a critical component of the city’s solid waste management plan and allows for nearly complete diversion of all municipal solid waste from Oahu’s only MSW landfill.”
H-POWER supplies up to 10 percent of Oahu’s electricity and is a key component assisting the state achieve 100 percent renewable electricity by 2045 while minimizing landfilling. Currently, Honolulu boasts an overall 82 percent landfill diversion rate.
H-POWER was tops in the Waste Conversion and Energy Recovery Technical Division for 2023. The facility earned similar honors in 2013, 2014, and 2016. The city facility utilizes both refuse-derived fuel and mass burn technologies, which allows for comprehensive and strategic management of the island’s wastes while generating up to 73 megawatts of net renewable baseload power.