Suez has secured a new ten-year contract from the French intermunicipal waste authority Sivalor to operate and upgrade the energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in Valserhône. Sivalor serves 163 municipalities in the Ain and Haute-Savoie departments in south-eastern France.
The Valserhône facility processes around 125,000 tonnes of municipal and similar waste per year. Electricity production from the plant amounts to roughly 70,000 MWh annually, Suez reports.
According to the contract announcement, the deal covers the operation and maintenance of the waste treatment facility as well as the design and implementation of modernisation works under a "global performance contract". The contract period begins in September 2027. Financial terms were not disclosed.
District heating network to recover additional energy
The agreement with Sivalor includes a programme of upgrades designed to improve the plant’s environmental performance and operational reliability. A central element of the project is the connection of the facility to a planned district heating network. Once the network is completed, the Sivalor waste to energy (wte) plant is expected to supply approximately 17,000 MWh of heat per year.
New cooling system anticipates impact of warming climate
Suez also plans to install a dry air-cooling system for the waste plant consisting of energy dissipators on the internal loop of the district heating system. These units will enhance the plant's existing hydrocondenser system which relies on water from the Rhône river and will "guarantee reliable service continuity despite thermal fluctuations in the river and will ensure uninterrupted operation during the summer period," Suez said.
This is one of several improvements being made to the site's water management system. In future, rain water is to be reused to produce the demineralised water needed for the plant, cutting drinking water consumption by 75 per cent. Optimising the Rhône water pumping systems is also expected to significantly reduce electricity consumption, according to Suez.
The environmental services group is also to install an eddy current separator, allowing it to recover around 300 tonnes per year more non-ferrous metals from the incinerator's bottom ash (IBA). Further measures include the installation of 4,500 m² of photovoltaic panels on the roof of the bottom ash treatment plant and solar canopies in the parking area.
The Valserhône wte plant has been in operation since 1998. It is operated by Suez subsidiary SET Faucigny Genevois.
