Florida Construction News staff writer
The City of Tampa has completed a $100 million retrofit of its McKay Bay Waste to Energy Facility.
Kokolakis Contracting was hired as the general contractor and the project team included Cornerstone Construction Services and Jacobs Engineering.
Work lasted 100 days with more than 400 construction staff working around the clock for a total of 360,000 hours worked. They completed 11 major upgrades and one historic retrofit & modernization of the site.
Originally built in 1985, the facility is a cornerstone of Tampa’s Solid Waste and Environmental Program Management Department. The facility converts over two million pounds of waste daily into electrical energy, powering approximately 15,000 homes monthly. Beyond electricity generation, the facility prioritizes sustainability by recovering metals from processed ash and employing a multi-step pollution control system for gases.
The $100 million investment ensures compliance with industry standards, modernizing buildings, technology, and machinery. Waste-to-energy facilities are typically designed with a 20 to 30-year estimated operating life. Upgrading the city’s current facility will help to extend the life span of the McKay Bay Waste to Energy Facility as the city continues to grow.
“Investing in McKay Bay’s Waste to Energy Facility is a strategic commitment to the health, safety, and future prosperity of the City of Tampa,” said Mayor Jane Castor. “The facility’s daily conversion of household and commercial waste into renewable electrical energy underscores its crucial role in sustainable waste management, making this investment more critical than ever to ensure this operation reaches its full potential, especially as our city grows.”
The City of Tampa assumed direct operation of the McKay Bay Waste to Energy Facility on June 1, 2020.
