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CITY'S H-POWER PLANT WINS TOP AWARD   (Tues., June 26, 2012) – Mayor Peter Carlisle today announced that the City's H-POWER waste-to-energy plant received the Facility Recognition Award at the 20th North American Waste-to-Energy Conference, and an expansion of the facility will soon be operational.            "H-POWER was a wise investment for the City and is helping keep opala out of our landfill while providing a reliable source of electricity," Carlisle said. "It's great to have these efforts recognized by experts in the field."            The plant has been in service since 1990 and is operated for the City by Covanta Honolulu. It utilizes two refuse-derived fuel processing trains that each combust approximately 300,000 tons of municipal solid waste annually. The expansion project, often referred to as the third boiler, will handle an additional 300,000 tons per year.            With the expansion, H-POWER will produce eight percent of Oahu's power – enough to power 75,000 homes – while diverting nearly 80 percent of the island's non-recyclable household opala from the landfill.            H-POWER also recovers approximately 20,000 tons of ferrous (steel) and non-ferrous (aluminum alloy) metal for recycling each year.            The award, presented by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), recognizes contributions by solid waste processing facilities for both combustion and material recovery. The Facility Recognition Award is the conference's highest honor.   -30-    Media Contact:  Markus Owens, ENV Communications Officer, 768-3454