Veolia Group, a French waste management and energy services company, has reportedly announced that its Australia & New Zealand unit has been selected to run Australia’s first Energy Recovery plant.
Named as the Kwinana Project, the new cutting-edge plant would be generating over 40 MW of clean electricity, enough to power approximately 50,000 households. The plant, while reportedly offering a more sustainable solution to the problem of waste management, would also be reinforcing local energy supply to drive affordability and energy security.
According to a press release by Veolia, the project is located near Perth, in the city of Kwinana and would be processing 400,000 tons of municipal solid waste. The operation and maintenance activities of the facility are anticipated to begin in 2021. The plant’s construction would be completed by Acciona, the consortium partner. The construction activities would be creating over 800 jobs in the region with 34 operational positions remaining open after the plant’s commissioning.
The company stated that the plant would be adhering to the highest standards that are in place – i.e. the European Industrial Emissions Directives. Moreover, the plant’s emission levels would reportedly be monitored using a Continuous Emissions Measurement System (CEMS).
Veolia would be carrying out all the maintenance and operation activities for an initial term of 25 years, cite reliable sources. The proposed 25-year contract is estimated to be valued at over AUD 450 million (€278 million).
Executive Vice President of Veolia Australia & New Zealand, Danny Conlon stated that the company aspires to drive improved outcomes of sustainability for itself, its customers and the community, helping preserve the environment in the process. Conlon further added that Veolia with its extensive expertise in operating Waste-to-Energy plants around the world is extremely proud to be a part of the Kwinana Project and bring energy security as well as affordability to Australia.
The project has reportedly been developed under an innovative partnership model called ‘assetco-opco’. Project Co – comprising DIF Infrastructure, Macquarie Capital and Phoenix Energy are the asset owners.