Covanta Energy Receives Notice to Proceed for the Construction of the Durham York Energy Centre

Company to Design, Build and Operate Energy-from-Waste Facility for the Regional Municipalities of Durham and York, Ontario

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Covanta Holding Corporation

Aug 17, 2011, 02:00 ET

MORRISTOWN, N.J., Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA), announced today that its subsidiary, Covanta Durham York Renewable Energy Limited Partnership has received the Notice to Proceed (NTP) from the Regional Municipalities of Durham and York, Ontario for the construction of a 140,000 tonne-per-year Energy-from-Waste facility in the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario. Covanta will design, build and operate the approximately $250 million project to be funded and owned by the regions of Durham and York. Design work has commenced and construction will get underway during the fall of 2011, with operations beginning in 2014.

The Durham York Energy-from-Waste facility will serve as an integral component of the comprehensive solid waste management program of the Regions of Durham and York. The facility will only process municipally collected household waste left over after the Regions' aggressive diversion efforts, such as recycling and composting. When operating at design capacity, the facility will be capable of producing 17.5 megawatts of clean renewable energy, enough to power approximately 10,000 homes. In the future, steam generated at the facility could be utilized for district heating in an industrial park adjacent to the facility, heating the equivalent of 2,200 homes. The facility will also recover ferrous and non-ferrous metals for recycling.

"We are delighted to receive the go-ahead on the construction of the Durham York Energy Centre, the first large scale, commercial energy-from-waste project in North America in over 15 years. The state-of-the-art facility will provide a long-term solution for sustainably managing the Regions' waste and set an industry standard for operations," said Anthony J. Orlando, president and chief executive officer of Covanta Energy. "The partnership of Durham and York and their decision to build this facility reinforces the important role that energy-from-waste plays in sustainable waste management efforts and in creating new reliable, renewable energy sources."

In April 2009 following an extensive competitive procurement process and evaluation review, the Durham Regional Council selected Covanta from a number of competing bids as the preferred vendor to build, operate and maintain an energy-from-waste facility. The facility is intended to complement the high waste diversion targets set by the Region and adhere to stringent environmental mitigation and monitoring plans. The project received a certificate of approval from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment on June 28, 2011 that covers all operational requirements and conditions. The emissions control technology at the Durham York facility will establish it as one of the cleanest energy-from-waste facilities in the world. It is estimated that facility construction will create approximately 400 jobs over a three year period and once operational, is expected to employ approximately 40 skilled workers on a full-time basis.

About Covanta

Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE:CVA), is an internationally recognized owner and operator of large-scale Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects and a recipient of the Energy Innovator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Covanta's 44 Energy-from-Waste facilities provide communities with an environmentally sound solution to their solid waste disposal needs by using that municipal solid waste to generate clean, renewable energy. Annually, Covanta's modern Energy-from-Waste facilities safely and securely convert approximately 20 million tons of waste into 9 million megawatt hours of clean renewable electricity and create more than 9 billion pounds of steam that are sold to a variety of industries. For more information, visit covantaenergy.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking" statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA") or in releases made by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), all as may be amended from time to time. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Covanta and its subsidiaries, or general industry or broader economic performance in global markets in which Covanta operates or competes, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by, among other things, the use of forward-looking language, such as the words "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "project," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "seeks," or "scheduled to," or other similar words, or the negative of these terms or other variations of these terms or comparable language, or by discussion of strategy or intentions. These cautionary statements are being made pursuant to the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the PSLRA with the intention of obtaining the benefits of the "safe harbor" provisions of such laws. Covanta cautions investors that any forward-looking statements made by Covanta are not guarantees or indicative of future performance. Important assumptions and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements with respect to Covanta, include, but are not limited to, the risk that Covanta may not successfully close its announced or planned acquisitions or projects in development and those factors, risks and uncertainties that are described in periodic securities filings by Covanta with the SEC. Although Covanta believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from a projection or assumption in any forward-looking statements. Covanta's future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to change and inherent risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date hereof and Covanta does not have or undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, unless otherwise required by law.

SOURCE Covanta Holding Corporation