Maui County has begun soliciting bids from companies to build a waste-to-energy project that would divert about 450 tons of garbage a day from the Central Maui Landfill and burn it to produce power that could be sold to Maui Electric Co. or used by county facilities.
"We’re taking something we’re currently paying to handle, which is our trash, and we’re going to be using that to create electric power, thereby reducing our dependency on foreign petroleum," Mayor Alan Arakawa said.
The county is expecting a good response from potential bidders for its request for proposals, or RFP, based on a preliminary screening processs that drew interest from 30 companies. The county has scheduled a meeting and site visit for prospective bidders on Nov. 27.
The roughly 450 tons of garbage dumped daily into the Central Maui Landfill, the largest of four county-run landfills, would be enough to run a power plant with a capacity of 10 to 15 megawatts.
Depending on how much power MECO wants to buy, Maui County also could opt to have some of the waste made into pellets that could be burned by a separate facility that would supply electricity to county facilities or be sold to private companies, such as hotels, Arakawa said.
"We’re trying to reduce our electricity costs and take care of the waste stream," Arakawa said. "No one really wants to have a new landfill built in their backyard. And the ability for us to minimize landfill space, and possibly mine some of the old landfill material, will allow us to be able to use our current landfill for a much longer period."
Any power sold to Maui Electric would require an additional power purchase agreement that would provide the electricity at a fixed price over a period of 20 years.
Arakawa said the RFP was structured to give the county the greatest amount of flexibility in converting waste to energy.
"We’re trying to get away from doing things just because … (and instead do) things because they make sense," Arakawa said. "We’re looking for solutions."
