Veolia lands contract to build WTE plant in France

The Paris-based environmental services firm Veolia has announced that its Valaubia subsidiary has signed a contract to build and operate a waste-to-energy facility for the French regional waste disposal authority Syndicat Départemental d’Elimination Des Déchets De L’Aube (SDEDA). The facility, to be built in La Chapelle-Saint-Luc, France, is expected to take 43 months for construction and is expected to operate for 25 years.

In announcing the deal, estimated to have a value of €240 million (US $270 million) Veolia notes that when operational, the facility will have an annual capacity of 60,000 metric tons and will produce energy for both heat and electricity in the authority. The plant is expected to generate 41 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year and 60 GWh of heat energy a year.

“The choice to opt for the project presented by Veolia was made because it was entirely focused on the circular economy and energy recovery – both heat and electricity – and because it fully met our authority’s expectations,” says Danièle Boeglin, president of SDEDA.

The heat energy produced will be fed into the group of municipalities’ district heating network and also used by a local company, both located near the new plant.

“The construction and the operation of this high performance waste-to-energy plant meets SDEDA’s commitment to finding the best possible local energy solutions. This type of contract reflects our growth and our aims in terms of the circular economy,” explained Bernard Harambillet, CEO Waste Solutions for Veolia in France.