(KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii, May 19, 2015)—BioEnergy Hawaii, LLC, (BEH) a designer, developer and operator of waste treatment and alternative energy systems, has partnered with impact investment firm Ulupono Initiative to finance a resource recovery facility planned for the west side of Hawaii Island.  

Ulupono Initiative is working with projects such as BEH to ensure Hawaii is more self-sufficient in the key areas of waste reduction, renewable energy and sustainable local food production. 

The limited partnership will share all financial obligations and proceeds of the $50 million facility.

​“We believe BioEnergy Hawaii’s planned resource recovery facility on the west side of Hawaii Island will substantially divert waste from going to the landfill to instead be used for recycling, compost and conversion of waste into energy,” said Ulupono’s General Partner Kyle Datta. “We’ve analyzed the state’s entire waste system across all counties and feel BEH’s integrated technology approach will not only benefit Hawaii County, but has the potential to be applied in other counties as well.”  

In addition to providing resources in capitalization and finance, Ulupono offers BioEnergy Hawaii guidance and support through a system-based model that connects companies within its portfolio of investments.  Ulupono is actively involved in ensuring the project is financially viable, sustainable, disciplined and benefits Hawaii County’s waste, energy and agriculture systems. 

​“We are honored to have a significant investor such as Ulupono Initiative become a full partner in our waste conversion project,” said Kosti Shirvanian, president of BioEnergy Hawaii and its parent company, Pacific Waste, Inc. “Our missions and values are completely aligned. We are both concerned with the health of our environment as well as the long-term growth and sustainability of Hawaii. Most importantly, we both see waste as a valuable resource.”

The BEH project will accept municipal solid waste (MSW) delivered by local waste collection companies, and divert 70 percent of it from the West Hawaii Sanitary Landfill. 

The project will include advanced recycling operations and produce multiple value products from the waste streams: recyclable commodities, organics, and residual solid fuel. Under the BEH approach, recyclables will be recovered and sent to the local recycling commodity market; wet organic waste will be treated through anaerobic digestion to produce fertilizer, compost and energy rich biogas; the solid materials—mixed papers, textiles, low-value plastics and wood—will be processed into a post-recycled engineered fuel. 

​“We support proven technologies that can help us better manage our waste in environmentally and financially sound ways,” said Datta. “As a long-time Kona resident, I believe BioEnergy Hawaii’s plan will provide a sustainable and economical solution to address our county’s waste struggles.”

The West Hawaii facility will be completely financed with private equity. BEH has the support of a $100 million special purpose revenue bond issued by the State of Hawaii. 

The project will be located near the Puuanahulu landfill; the exact location of the facility will be released when lease negotiations are final. 

Construction on the BioEnergy Hawaii facility is scheduled to begin during the summer of 2016.

For more information on the project and BEH, visit www.bioenergyhawaii.com.

About BioEnergy Hawaii, LLC 
BioEnergy Hawaii, LLC was formed in 2006 for the express purpose of establishing sustainable resource management operations in the State of Hawaii. BEH is committed to the development of waste-to-value facilities that are both environmentally friendly and economically viable for the long-term use and benefit of the residents and businesses throughout Hawaii.  

BEH executives and team members have extensive experience in the waste and energy industries and understand the complexities of waste handling and material processing.  BEH managers have worked extensively in Hawaii and many of the staff members are native to the islands. The company is headquartered in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with a full-time executive team and administrative staff working on Hawaii Island, as well as corporate offices based in Newport Beach, California.

About Ulupono Initiative 
Ulupono Initiative is a Hawaii-focused impact investing firm that uses for-profit and non-profit investments to improve the quality of life for island residents in three areas – locally produced food; clean, renewable energy; and waste reduction. To learn more, please visit www.ulupono.com or follow @ulupono on Twitter. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(KAILUA-KONA, HI, March 11, 2015)—BioEnergy Hawaii, LLC, (BEH) a designer, developer and operator of waste treatment and alternative energy systems, plans a fully integrated resource recovery facility on the west side of Hawaii Island. The $50 million facility will incorporate state-of-the-art material handling equipment and energy conversion technology to substantially reduce the amount of waste currently going directly into the landfill.

The West Hawaii facility will be totally financed with private equity. The project has the support of a $100 million special purpose revenue bond issued by the State of Hawaii. The project will be located near the Puuanahulu landfill; the exact location of the facility will be released when lease negotiations are finalized.

​BioEnergy Hawaii is the long-term vision of Kosti Shirvanian, president of Pacific Waste, Inc., the parent company of BEH. “We have lived and worked on the Big Island for almost 20 years; and as members of the community we all share a responsibility to care for the land,” said Shirvanian. “This project will transform our waste into a resource and make a positive contribution to our community and our environment.”

​The project will accept municipal solid waste (MSW) delivered by local waste collection companies, and divert a significant amount of the incoming waste (70 percent) from the West Hawaii Sanitary Landfill. “We believe this project will meet Mayor Billy Kenoi’s goal of extending the life of the County’s landfills by diverting more waste, and the joint goal of protecting the ‘aina’,” said Guy Kaniho, BEH general manager. 

The project will establish advanced recycling operations and produce multiple value products from the incoming waste. In order to maximize the diversion rate, the facility design integrates the recovery of three separate value streams: recyclable commodities, organics, and solid fuel.

The recyclable materials; which would have been buried in the landfill, will be recovered and directed into the local recycling commodity market.

The wet organic waste (i.e. food and green waste); will be treated through an anaerobic digestion (AD) process to stabilize the material and produce a nutrient rich natural fertilizer and high-quality compost. The AD operations will also recover an energy rich biogas—a flexible fuel source that can be used to generate electricity, be upgraded to pipe-line quality renewable natural gas (RNG), or compressed to create an alternative transportation fuel (known as bio-CNG).

The residual solid fuel portion—items not suitable for use in the anaerobic digester such as mixed paper, textiles, low-value plastic and wood—will be processed into a post-recycled engineered fuel (PREF)—a dry, light material suitable for thermal energy conversion operations.

BEH plans to establish “closed-loop” waste recovery operations by encouraging local haulers to convert their waste collection vehicles to utilize the locally sourced bio-CNG. The fleet conversions will stabilize the waste hauler’s long-term fuel costs and allow them to utilize the low-carbon renewable biofuel and reduce the island’s dependency on imported fossil fuels.

Incoming waste will be handled and processed in an enclosed building to ensure dust and odor control. The waste will be separated and sorted through a combination of automated and manual recovery methods. Materials that cannot be recycled or processed into renewable fuel, fertilizer and compost will be delivered to the Puuanahulu landfill—about 30 percent of the total volume.

“Given our Island’s limited land area and fresh water resources,” said Kaniho, “recycling and waste diversion is a priority, as it is in much of the industrialized world.”

About BioEnergy Hawaii, LLC 

​BioEnergy Hawaii, LLC was formed in 2006 for the express purpose of establishing sustainable resource management operations in the State of Hawaii. BEH is committed to the development of waste-to-value facilities that are both environmentally friendly and economically viable for the long-term use and benefit of the residents and businesses throughout Hawaii.  

BEH executives and team members have extensive experience in the waste and energy industries and understand the complexities of waste handling and material processing.  BEH managers have worked extensively in Hawaii and many of the staff members are native to the islands. The company is headquartered in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with a full-time executive team and administrative staff working on the Big Island, as well as corporate offices based in Newport Beach, California.

Media Contact:
Ashley Kierkiewicz
Hastings & Pleadwell
Cell: (808) 989-4004
alk@hastingsandpleadwell.com ​

BioEnergy Hawaii, a leading designer, developer and operator of alternative energy systems, today introduced a new brand identity and corporate website that reflects the company’s values, goals, and strengths, including its unique position in the bioenergy industry. BioEnergy Hawaii engaged and collaborated with Kinetic Branding, a branding and marketing agency, who designed and developed the company's new brand identity, including the company's logo and website.

BioEnergy Hawaii sought to redesign its corporate logo and to develop a new website for the purpose of making deep, meaningful connections with Hawaiian residents and businesses and to authentically communicate their core values and bioenergy vision for the Big Island of Hawaii. Clint Knox, Project Manager & Director of Sustainability for BioEnergy Hawaii, and Guy Kaniho, General Manager for BioEnergy Hawaii, worked directly with Paul Ruettgers, Creative Director at Kinetic Branding, to design and develop the company's brand identity.

Explaining the thought process behind the design, Paul Ruettgers, Creative Director of Kinetic Branding, explained, "We set out to design a welcoming brand identity that would embrace the essence of why BioEnergy Hawaii is so passionate and devoted to their efforts in preserving and securing the future wellbeing of Hawaii." 
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Kinetic Branding also worked with BioEnergy Hawaii to design and develop the company's corporate website, working closely to effectively communicate the company's heart and passion for the wellbeing of the Big Island of Hawaii. 

The objectives of the new corporate website were to create a simple, clear and compelling message to Hawaiian residents and businesses that accurately and articulately define the goals and initiatives of BioEnergy Hawaii and it's passion to improve the environment and well-being of the Big Island. Kinetic designed and developed a sophisticated yet uncomplicated website that allows visitors to easily navigate to content. 

Kinetic Branding, in collaboration with BioEnergy Hawaii and Cam Davis of Wordplay, developed the BioEnergy Hawaii campaign "Our Hawaii – Our Future" to establish why the company desires to nurture the wildlife, residents and businesses on the Big Island, giving them a secure and prosperous future. This concept helps explain the heart behind their initiatives for the island and sets forth the vision for the future of Hawaii. 

The new website design is simple and clean in design, using a lot of white space to highlight the beauty of the Big Island and the new "Our Hawaii – Our Future." campaign. Guy Kaniho, the General Manager of BioEnergy Hawaii desired a brand identity indicative of the company's vision for the Big Island, "Kinetic Branding was able to communicate our vision and commitment through their professional logo and website design.