Veolia and Waga Energy have announced the commissioning of France’s largest biomethane production unit using biogas from a non-hazardous waste storage facility. Located on the largest biogas production site in France, Veolia’s industrial ecology hub in Claye-Souilly (Paris region), will produce 120 GWh of renewable gas annually. This is equivalent to the average annual consumption of 20,000 households or 480 buses running on BioNGV, and will avoid around 25,000 tons of CO2 every year.
Based on the WAGABOX® technology developed by Waga Energy, this fully automated and remotely controlled production unit recovers and treats the biogas from landfill waste to transform it into biomethane, a 100% renewable gas. This green gas is then injected directly into the GRDF-operated network to provide energy to homes and businesses in the region, for their traditional uses but also to decarbonize the transport sector thanks to BioGNV.
The Claye-Souilly project is one of four developed through a partnership between Veolia and Waga Energy in France. A production unit is already in operation in Saint-Palais (Cher), with two others currently under construction in Le Ham (Manche) and Chatuzange-le-Goubet (Drôme).
Once commissioned, these four units will represent biomethane production capacity of up to 175 GWh per year by 2024, and will allow to avoid 35,000 metric tons of CO2 annually.
“Veolia is a key player in the biogas production and the conversion of biogas into energy, the Group already produces 1.6 terrawat hours of biogas from waste methanisation in France alone. We intend to contribute to the development of a full-fledged green gas production sector at the European level, which is essential for energy security and to fight against global warming,” explains Estelle Brachlianoff, Group Chief Operating Officer at Veolia.
The industrial ecology hub, located in Claye-Souilly in the Île-de-France region, treats and recovers up to 1.5 million tons annually of municipal and industrial waste. It is already equipped with facilities converting the biogas produced into heat and electricity. With the commissioning of the new 1 Multiannual Energy Plan 2019–2023, Ministry of Ecological Transition biomethane production unit, the site’s total annual energy production from all sources will increase to 238 GWh, a 40% increase on current energy supply.
Veolia and biomethane
Veolia is now one of the world’s largest producers of energy from biogas, with 6 TWh of primary energy resources. A world leader in ecological transformation, Veolia aims to maximize biogas recovery in the form of biomethane and to increase its global reserves, in a circular economy approach. The Group’s ambition is to become a leader in the biomethane sector and further develop green energy production capacities to help in the fight against climate change.
