KAILUA-KONA » Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi says he’s halting efforts to build a waste-to-energy incinerator on the Big Island.

West Hawaii Today reports Kenoi on Friday announced he will not during his remaining two years in office move forward on what would have been the county’s most expensive public works project.

Kenoi says the decrease in oil prices from $100 per barrel to less than $50 has driven down what Hawaii Electric Light Co. would pay the county for electricity generated by the incinerator. He says that makes it less feasible that the incinerator would pay for itself.

Kenoi says he will focus on diverting organic and green waste from landfills and seek a state permit to steepen the slope of the Hilo landfill, which could expand its life.