Veolia wins contract to operate the Reims Energy Recovery Plant

Veolia has won the contract to operate the Reims Energy Recovery Plant. The waste treatment plant is located in Reims, in the north-east of France, 129km from Paris. It treats the 60,000 metric tons of final waste generated each year by the Greater Reims population of 300,0000. 

The nine-year contract comes into effect on January 1, 2018. It is worth a cumulative EUR95 million (US$112.6 million) for Veolia’s recycling and waste recovery business in France.

As part of the contract’s renewal, €10 million (US$11.81 million) will be devoted to work on improving the facility’s reliability and its energy efficiency resulting in an overall improvement to the energy recovery plant’s total energy performance. As well as producing heat energy, a new turbo-alternator will be installed to generate more than 12,000 MWh of recovered electricity. That is the equivalent consumption of more than 5,000 people.

The work will also reduce the site’s energy consumption and guarantee its availability to supply the Croix-Rouge neighborhood’s district heating network. The facility will comply with the major requirements of France’s Energy Transition Law.

Carried out by VINCI with the assistance of local architects LINGAT, the work will qualify for the “Greater Sustainable Reims” label. Given all the improvements that will be made to the energy recovery plant, it will become a green energy plant in its own right, thereby reducing Greater Reims’ TGAP (French tax on polluting activities) and delivering savings estimated at €3.1 million (US$3.6 million).

With four certifications – ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environment), OHSAS 18001 (Safety) and ISO 50001 (Energy efficiency) – the energy recovery plant is an example of environmental excellence. It utilizes an efficient flue gas treatment system which guarantees discharge levels below the most stringent European standards. Dioxins and dust will be 40% below the European threshold. The studies conducted by the local observatory for air-quality monitoring (ATMO) have revealed that the facility’s emissions will have no impact on the environment.