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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for 3rd Combustion Unit
Oct 18, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brigitte Kantor, Lee County Solid Waste Division Guided tours are offered at the Waste To Energy facility and the recycling plant between 10 and 11 AM and again from 12 to 2 PM. The ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 11 AM, followed by lunch and refreshments provided by Covanta Energy, FCR Inc. free sweet dessert treat provided at the Recycling facility by FCR, Inc. Visitors may park in special designated spaces at the WTE facility. A shuttle bus service is available to provide transportation for citizens within the facility. Energy saving, compact fluorescent light bulbs and other memorabilia will be given away while supply lasts. The Waste to Energy facility, Lee County's own energy source, has been in operation since 1994. Two 600 ton per day combustion units provided for the safe and economical disposal of the garbage generated in Lee County for over a decade. At the turn of the Century it became apparent that the facility needed to be expanded in order to keep up with growth and the rising garbage volumes. A PSD permit for a third unit was issued in 2004 by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Board of County Commissioners decided to proceed with the expansion of the WTE facility. The construction of an additional 636 ton per day third waste combustion unit began in early 2006. After 19 months of construction, the Waste to Energy facility's operating staff successfully synchronized the new electric generator to the electric grid with a gross output of over 18 megawatts of electric power. The new combustion unit is the first Municipal Waste Combuster permitted and constructed under the new EPA's New Source Performance Standards in the United States since they were promulgated in the 1990's. Residents and Media are very welcome to visit and see for themselves what happens to their garbage.
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