Covanta Energy

Covanta Energy is a subsidiary of Covanta Holding Corporation, an internationally recognized owner and operator of large-scale Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects, including eight biomass facilities. This renewable power is generated by utilizing wood fuel from a variety of sources including logging debris, logs from forest thinning, wood waste from lumber mills, highway right of way clearing, agricultural waste such as nut shells and fruit pits, and greenwaste collected from the communities we operate in. Fuel that is gathered in this way also contributes to a removal of accumulated fuel available on the forest floor and a reduction in wildfire potential. The use of this fuel and the greenwaste fuel also reduces the amount of open burning conducted in our communities which significantly reduces carbon monoxide smoke and particulates released by open burning.

Renewable electric generating facilities such as these produce numerous benefits for the communities they operate in, they diversify energy generation, reduce pollutants otherwise emitted into the air we breath, reduce fossil fuel based electric generation, and also contribute to a significant reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases.

Covanta Mendota Power, Mendota, CA

Owned and operated by Covanta Energy since 2007, Covanta Mendota Power is a 25 MW biomass circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler power plant located on 80 acres in an agricultural area of the Central Valley of California, approximately 40 miles west of Fresno, California. Receiving wood waste which is diverted from landfills and agricultural wood derived from whole orchard removal and miscellaneous agricultural residue generated in processing produce such as olives, almonds, prunes, peaches and many others Covanta Mendota processes 600 tons of biomass materials into energy each day. The facility, owned and operated by Covanta Energy since 2007, generates 25 megawatt hours of renewable electricity, while reducing the amount of material disposed of in landfills. The facility’s energy generation helps power 25,000 homes on a daily basis.

Covanta Delano Power, Delano, CA

Farms in Kern and Tulare Counties surrounding Covanta Delano generate over 580,000 tons of woody waste annually, mostly from almond, peach, and nectarine orchards. In the past, most of this material has been burned in the fields. Covanta Delano utilizes these waste materials in producing clean electricity offering farmers another alternative to open-field burning Equipped with the latest air pollution control technology, Covanta Delano is a major contributor in cleaning the air in California’s Central Valley. In fact, by reducing 96 percent of the pollutants released in open-field burning, local air quality management officials have called Covanta Delano “a stationary air pollution control device.”

In addition, Kern County landfills recycle tens of thousands of tons of urban wood waste each month for use at Covanta Delano. This amounts to approximately 40 percent of all urban wood waste generated in the unincorporated county. Overall, the facility processes nearly nearly 1,176 tons of biomass waste materials each day, generating more than 50 megawatt hours of electricity.

Covanta Mount Lassen Power, Westwood, CA

Mount Lassen Power is a biomass facility that receives saw mill waste and forest residues from Lassen and Plumas Counties and surrounding areas. The plant provides a market for all of the products removed in a thinning operation, allowing forest management practices to improve forest health and lower fire potential. The facility processes more than 270 tons of biomass waste materials each day, converting the material into approximately 11.5 megawatt hours of electricity. This power is enough to meet the needs of 11,500 homes. The facility has been owned and operated by Covanta Energy since 1997.

Covanta Burney Mountain Power, Burney, CA

Beginning commercial operations in 1984, Burney Mountain Power Facility, owned and operated by Covanta Energy, processes nearly 280 tons of biomass waste materials each day and converts this fuel into renewable electric power. The facility is the sister plant to Mount Lassen Power and services Shasta County and the surrounding areas. The primary fuels for the facility are forest residue, mill residue and whole tree chips. Operating at full capacity, the facility generates approximately 11 megawatts of electricity, which is sold to Pacific Gas and Electric.

Covanta Pacific Oroville Power, Oroville, CA

Owned and operated by Covanta Energy since 1997, Covanta Pacific Oroville Power facility processes more than 500 tons of biomass waste materials each day. The wood waste materials are diverted from landfills and used as a fuel at the facility. Covanta Pacific Oroville Power also receives approximately 5,000 tons per year of agricultural greenwaste that contributes that helps the plant produce enough clean, renewable energy on a daily basis to generate approximately 16.5 megawatt hours (net) of electricity, the equivalent of powering 16,500 homes.

Covanta Pacific Ultrapower Chinese Station, Jamestown, CA

Covanta Pacific Ultrapower Chinese Station began commercial operation in 1986, processes 500 tons of forest residue such as wood chips, agricultural byproducts and unadulterated urban wood each day. In California, biomass facilities like Covanta Pacific Ultrapower Chinese Station are important tools in preventing the uncontrolled, highly polluting open-field burning of three million tons of agricultural residues each year. Instead, these materials can be used to generate clean, renewable energy. At Covanta Pacific Ultrapower Chinese Station approximately 19.8 megawatt hours of electricity is generated from this material.

Covanta West Enfield Power Station, West Enfield, ME

Acquired by Covanta Energy in 2008, the West Enfield Power Station began commercial operation in November 1987. The facility takes wood waste from forest operations, thinnings and sawmills and combusts it in specially designed boilers to generate renewable energy. The wood waste is reduced to an inert ash residue that is approximately 3% of its original volume. The ash residue is can be used as fertilizer, soil amendment or bedding for farm animals. The facility processes The Covanta West Enfield Power Station processes 550 dry tons of biomass waste materials a day, producing 24.5 megawatt hours of electricity for ISO-New England, a regional transmission organization serving Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Covanta Jonesboro Power Station, Jonesboro, ME

The Jonesboro Biomass Facility began commercial operation in November 1987 and was acquired by Covanta Energy in 2008. Powered by fuel that consists of wood chips, bark, tree limbs and tops, mill residue and other clean forest-related biomass, the facility generates up to 24.5 megawatts of renewable energy that is sold into the merchant power markets of ISO New England and also qualifies for Massachusetts Class I renewable energy certificates. The facility processes 550 dry tons of biomass waste materials each day, producing 24.5 megawatt hours of electricity to power 24,500 homes daily.