WAILUKU, Maui, Hawai`i– Mayor Alan Arakawa announced today the issuance of a Request for Qualifications for a Waste Conversion Project at the Central Maui Landfill in Pu`unene. The County of Maui is seeking qualified respondents who have experience in the development and operation of a waste conversion facility, which is a project that converts municipal solid waste to a renewable fuel or energy.
“We are focused on a fundamental shift to turn our trash into energy,” announced Mayor Arakawa, “Instead of land-filling our wastes there is an ideal opportunity to utilize the waste stream as a resource and generate renewable energy that we can sell back to MECO.”
Waste conversion facilities are quite common throughout theUnited States. The City andCountyofHonolulurecently expanded their waste conversion project, H-Power, with the addition of a third boiler. While waste conversion, also known as waste-to-energy, had in the past been limited to mass burn, incineration facilities, waste conversion technologies have advanced significantly over the last decade with greater efficiencies and significantly lower emissions.
TheCountyofMauibelieves that a waste conversion project will result in a favorable carbon footprint as compared to the current disposal process. Through project implementation and by reducing the land-filling of municipal solid waste, the generation of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas, will decline significantly and the importation of fossil fuels for electricity generation will be reduced.
The Department of Environmental Management will be administering this RFQ and prospective developers may contact Kyle Ginoza, Director, at (808) 270-8230 for more information. The department envisions this project going through a three-step process before a developer is selected. After receiving responses to the RFQ, the department will seek approval from the Maui County Council. Upon Council approval, a Request for Proposals will be advanced to the top RFQ respondents.
“It is time for theCountyofMauito take a hard look at making waste conversion a reality,” remarked Mayor Arakawa, “At an average inflow of 450 tons per day at the Central Maui Landfill, there is a potential to develop an estimated 10-15 MW of renewable energy with no County capital outlay.”
