|
Lee County to Break Ground on Expansion of Waste to Energy Plant
Feb 2, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lindsey Sampson, Lee County Solid Waste Division LEE COUNTY TO BREAK GROUND ON $105-MILLION EXPANSION OF WASTE-TO-ENERGY FACILITY The ceremony will be at 11 a.m. at the WTE Facility, 10500 Buckingham Road. Lee County Commissioner John Albion will serve as master of ceremonies. The ground breaking culminates several years of planning for the expansion. In September 2003, the Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the "Power Plant Siting Board," unanimously approved a permit application by Lee County to expand the plant from a capacity of 1,200 tons-per-day to 1,836 tons-per-day. Since then, the county has completed the design and engineering for the expansion (through Burns and Roe), retained Covanta as the construction manager, and just last week approved the agreement with Covanta to operate the expanded facility. The plant also called the Resource Recovery Facility or incinerator was completed in August 1994 and disposes of the county's garbage by burning it and generating electricity from a steam driven turbine. The facility burns 390,000 tons of garbage a year and generates up to 34 megawatts of electricity or enough to power about 30,000 homes. Completion of the expansion project is estimated in 18-to-24 months. Go to the following link for a detailed powerpoint presentation of the expansion project http://www.lee-county.com/solidwaste/Autopage_T1_R36.htm. The plant exceeds strict environmental and emissions standards and has been the recipient of many awards since opening, including the Power Engineering and Power Engineering International magazines' 1995 Project of the Year Award, the 1996 Environmental Citizen of the Year Award from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the 1999 Waste-to-Energy Excellence Gold Award from The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), and the 2001 Facility Recognition Award from The Solid Waste Processing Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). BACKGROUND: Waste To Energy Facility History. The late 1980's were a period of tremendous growth in Lee County. As the population increased.so did the volume of garbage. The experts knew that the Lee County landfill would be at full capacity within a few years and subsequently shut down. Trying to find a location for a new landfill that the public would readily accept was going to be a very difficult proposition. The population in Lee County in 1988 was 300,000 and with a projected population of 750,000 in 2020, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners knew it was time to act quickly before the ´garbage situation' became notably worse. The Board felt that there had to be a much better, more efficient and environmentally sound option than burying 100 % of our garbage in the ground. Thus, in the 1989, the commissioners created the Lee County Integrated Solid Waste Management System and the area's citizens have been the beneficiaries ever since. The Board's Department of Solid Waste staff and numerous contracted companies work together on a daily basis to execute the plan. The system's main goal is to dispose of the garbage while limiting the amount of tons 1) sent to the landfill and 2) processed at the Waste to Energy Facility (WTE). Consequently, there are several components of the system used to dispose of the garbage so as to limit the tonnage processed or buried. They are energy recovery, recycling, 3 trash collections weekly, free mulch, household hazardous waste program and a landfill. Chronology. 1990 -- Lee County Commissioners select Ogden Martin Systems ( now Covanta Energy ) to build and operate the WTE. 1994 Commercial operation begins. In addition processing garbage, 30 tons of ferrous metals ( steel, iron, etc. ) are recovered daily from the ash residue and recycled. 1995 -- The WTE is declared the "1995 Project of the Year" by Power International magazine. 1996 -- The WTE receives the prestigious "Environmental Citizen of the Year Award" from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. 1999 -- The WTE receives the "Waste to Energy Excellence Gold Award" from the Solid Waste Association of North America. 2001 -- WTE receives the "ASME Facility of the Year Award" from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 2001 -- Technology is added that recovers nonferrous metals ( aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, etc ) from the ash residue stream. 30 tons per month are recovered and recycled. 2002 -- Lee County Commissioners vote to add a third combustion unit to increase the facility's waste disposal capacity. 2004 -- Lee County Commissioners award a $ 6 million contract for the design and engineering of a third combustion unit to Burns and Roe Engineering. 2007 -- The third combustion unit will be operational. Third Combustion Unit. The current plant with 2 combustion units process 1,200 tons of waste per day, approximately 390,000 tons of trash annually. The combustion process generates up to 36 megawatts of electricity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, with the beginning of the 21st century it became necessary for Lee County to update its long-term plan to accommodate the County's rapid growth and the corresponding rise in garbage generation. Research of viable, long term, environmentally friendly options confirmed that an expansion of the WTE facility was fundamental to that pursuit and consistent with the County's Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan. The $ 105 million third combustion unit expansion project will process 636 tons per day of municipal solid waste. The unit will consist of a stoker grate, boiler/steam generator, attendant air pollution control systems and an additional steam turbine and electric generator. The addition of this third combustion unit will increase the facility's processing capacity from 1200 to 1836 tons per day. Engineering and Technology. Best Available Control Technology to ensure Good Combustion Practices for the control of volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide are implemented in the form of air pollution control equipment for the combustion unit. This includes a spray dryer absorber (semi-dry scrubber) and fabric filter bag house for the control of sulfur dioxide, acid gases and particulate matter, a select non-catalytic reduction system for the control of nitrogen oxides, a dry carbon injection system for the control of mercury, and a flue gas recirculation system. Ancillary equipment, including reagent storage tanks, will be constructed to support the combustion unit and pollution control equipment. A steam turbine and electric generator unit with nominal capacity of 20 megawatts will be installed to convert steam from the boiler to electricity. The existing cooling tower and water treatment system will be expanded to support the new turbine. The ash handling and storage building will be expanded and modified in consideration of the additional ash generated. Other facility infrastructure components will be expanded or modified, such as the onsite roads, etc., to support the expanded facility's operations. Lee County is looking forward to utilizing this third unit to produce "clean, renewable, energy". |