In 2011, Veolia Environmental Services' facilities for energy recovery in the Greater Paris area covered the electricity needs of 350,000 people and supplied district heating networks serving 46,000 households in the area.
Estelle Brachlianoff, Regional Manager of Veolia Environmental Services in the Greater Paris area
"Using waste as a resource contributes to restoring ecological balances from the main steps of the waste-to-energy process. But firstly we have to manage the two key stages: sending the waste to be incinerated or landfilled."
Waste is incinerated continuously at over 850 °C. The energy generated by the waste combustion feeds boilers and the steam produced is converted into electricity or heat.
In 2011, Veolia Environmental Services' eight facilities(2) in the Greater Paris area covered the electricity needs of 130,000 people and supplied district heating networks serving 46,000 households in the area.
The natural decomposition process of waste in landfills spontaneously produces biogas.
Veolia Environmental Services captures this gas at the source and regulates its output thanks to a patented process developed in its research center. Méthacontrol® increases the amount of biogas captured by up to 15% compared with standard processes. As biogas has a high heating value, it is then converted into energy.
In 2011, three of Veolia Environmental Services' facilities(3) covered the electricity needs of 220,000 people.
In addition, the first biomethane fuel production unit, using biogas from the Claye-Souilly landfill, is fueling some 10 light vehicles and a household waste collection vehicle, all equipped with engines using compressed natural gas (CNG). The vehicles fill up on Méth'OD®(4) directly on site.
The waste-to-energy processes developed by Veolia Environmental Services come within the framework targets of the European Union, which include achieving a 23% share of renewable energies in the EU's energy mix by 2020.
(1) Residual waste is that part of household waste that remains after organic and material recycling
(2) Guerville (78); Saint-Ouen l'Aumône (95); Sarcelles (95); Monthyon (77); Vaux-le-Pénil (77); Montereau (77); Rungis (94); Villejust (94)
(3) Claye-Souilly (77); Bouqueval (95) and Fouju (77)
(4) Methane 100% Waste origin