Veolia (Paris) is inaugurating three new electric power plants at its waste recovery centers in the states of São Paulo and Santa Catarina in Brazil. In all, they will produce 12.4 MW of renewable electricity using the biogas produced from decomposing organic waste, which is enough to fulfil the electricity and heating needs of 42,000 inhabitants in Brazil.
“As a world leader in ecological transformation, Veolia is committed to maximizing the energy recovery of the biogas produced on its sites with a circular economy approach and contributing to the mitigation of climate change. In Brazil, the acceleration of water stress should stimulate the search for alternative models. We are convinced that the interest of cities and industries in stable sources of renewable energy such as biogas will grow and we will be there to support this trend. Veolia is also studying other solutions for upgrading biogas in the country, in particular through the production of biomethane that can be used in the natural gas network or as automotive fuel,” explains Pedro Prádanos, CEO of Veolia Brazil.
Biogas is generated from industrial, animal and plant-based organic waste. It represents a stable and predictable source of energy that is kinder to the environment than the fossil fuels used to produce electricity.
Creating a local waste-to-energy recovery process through local loops of the circular economy helps mitigate climate change:
- The process reduces greenhouse gases by destroying the methane generated by waste, bearing in mind that the impact of methane on the environment is 28 times higher than CO2.
The renewable electricity produced in-situ replaces the fossil fuels that were used to generate electricity, thereby avoiding their extraction and combustion.
By the end of 2021, harnessing the biogas at Veolia’s waste recovery centers in Brazil will prevent 45,000 tons of methane from being released into the atmosphere, or 1.26 million tons of CO2 equivalent.