Date: December 21, 2009
Source: Covanta Holding Corporation
Covanta to Build and Operate A $302 Million Expansion At The H-Power Energy-From-Waste Facility;
City And County of Honolulu Extend Covanta's Operating Contract
Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA), announced today that its subsidiary, Covanta Honolulu Resource Recovery Venture, has amended its existing service agreement with the City and County of Honolulu, HI to include its activities as the designer, builder and operator of a $302 million expansion of the H-POWER Energy-from-Waste facility in Honolulu, HI. The 900 ton per day (TPD) expansion project, which will be funded and owned by the City and County, will increase the facility's capacity by approximately 40%. Furthermore, the agreement extends Covanta's tenure as the facility's operator for 20 years upon the start of commercial operation of the expanded facility, which is expected to occur in 24 to 34 months.
The H-POWER facility serves as an integral component of the comprehensive solid waste management program of the City and County of Honolulu. "Covanta has provided exemplary service to the City since the beginning," said Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann. "Their staff's dedication and strong management skills have helped make H-POWER a major success and we're very confident that adding this third boiler will be a major success for everyone."
When the new unit comes on line, it will provide Honolulu with additional disposal capacity for the municipal solid waste generated by 850,000 residents and six million visitors to the island of Oahu each year. Overall processing capacity will be increased to 900,000 tons per year.
"We are delighted that the City and County of Honolulu have elected to continue our long-standing partnership by engaging us in this important expansion project and extending our role as the operator of this premier facility. Their decision reinforces the important role that Covanta and energy-from-waste play in Oahu's solid waste management efforts," said Seth Myones, President of Covanta Americas. "Upon completion, H-POWER's expanded capacity will minimize the need for landfilling to help preserve land on this beautiful island, while also providing residents with additional clean, renewable energy to reduce their dependence on imported oil."
After the expansion, H-POWER's output will constitute approximately 84 megawatts, representing six percent of the island's electricity, a major contribution to Oahu's goal of becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy production. On an annual basis, the expanded facility will offset the need to burn nearly one million barrels of oil. In addition to those environmental benefits, the expansion will also provide a much needed boost to the local economy, generating approximately 300 construction jobs as well as additional jobs to operate and maintain the facility once completed.
About Covanta
Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA), is an internationally recognized owner and operator of large-scale Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects and a recipient of the Energy Innovator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Covanta's 44 Energy-from-Waste facilities provide communities with an environmentally sound solution to their solid waste disposal needs by using that municipal solid waste to generate clean, renewable energy. Annually, Covanta's modern Energy-from-Waste facilities safely and securely convert approximately 20 million tons of waste into more than 9 million megawatt hours of clean renewable electricity and create 10 billion pounds of steam that are sold to a variety of industries. For more information, visit www.covantaholding.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking" statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA") or in releases made by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), all as may be amended from time to time. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Covanta and its subsidiaries, or general industry or broader economic performance in domestic and international markets in which Covanta operates or competes, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by, among other things, the use of forward-looking language, such as the words "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "project," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "seeks," or "scheduled to," or other similar words, or the negative of these terms or other variations of these terms or comparable language, or by discussion of strategy or intentions. These cautionary statements are being made pursuant to the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the PSLRA with the intention of obtaining the benefits of the "safe harbor" provisions of such laws. Covanta cautions investors that any forward-looking statements made by Covanta are not guarantees or indicative of future performance. Important assumptions and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements with respect to Covanta, include, but are not limited to, the risk that Covanta may not successfully close its announced or planned acquisitions or projects in development and those factors, risks and uncertainties that are described in periodic securities filings by Covanta with the SEC. Although Covanta believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from a projection or assumption in any forward-looking statements. Covanta's future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to change and inherent risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date hereof and Covanta does not have or undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, unless otherwise required by law.
For more information, contact:
Marisa F. Jacobs, Esq.
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
973-882-4196
Vera Carley
Director, Media Relations and Corporate Communications
973-882-2439
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