Veolia to use solar power at Arkansas hazardous waste facility

Boston-based Veolia North America (VNA) says it is demonstrating its commitment to environmental sustainability in part with a series of investments it has made at its hazardous waste treatment facility in Gum Springs, Arkansas.

That location, which was acquired in 2020 and has been the site of a major installation project that started in 2022, has undergone what Veolia calls “a series of unprecedented initiatives to make the plant the most sustainable operation of its kind in the United States” in preparation for its re-opening next year.

At an event held in Gum Springs Oct. 9, VNA flipped a ceremonial switch on a 5-megawatt solar panel installation, which the company says has been completed “to provide a clean source of electricity” at the high-temperature thermal treatment plant.

VNA says the solar array is not the only step is has taken to protect “surrounding natural resources” and to support its decarbonization strategies in what are traditionally carbon-intensive industries.

The United States business unit of the French firm also is conducting what it calls a forest management program covering more than 1,000 acres surrounding the facility. That effort includes the protection or restoration of more than 600 acres of “active reforestation,” says Veolia, including the expected planting of 100,000 trees next year. The ceremony included the planting of the first tree sapling.

In addition to solar power, the Gum Springs plant will host what VNA calls a “first-of-its-kind innovation for capturing heat to generate electricity.” That installation will make use of a 7-megawatt steam turbine to generate power.

Additionally, Veolia says it is deploying technologies for monitoring wildlife and biodiversity near the facility, working in partnership with the Paris-based National Museum of Natural History to install light emission and kinetic observation (LEKO) biodiversity monitoring tools on the property, using sensors to listen, identify and count species in the surrounding habitat.

“Together, these initiatives demonstrate Veolia's vision for creating a brighter future for the hundreds of communities in the U.S. and Canada where we provide essential environmental services in waste, water and energy,” says VNA President and CEO Fred Van Heems.

“Veolia’s global GreenUp strategy for growth hinges on our commitment to providing innovative solutions for environmental challenges, and we are backing that commitment up through the work and vision we are carrying out at Gum Springs,” adds Van Heems.

Arkansas-based Today’s Power Inc. (TPI) has been involved in the solar array installation in Gum Springs. “TPI is proud to have built this facility, and we look forward to a continued strong relationship with Veolia and South Central Electric Cooperative as the ongoing operator of the project,” says that company’s interim CEO John Elkins.

Comments Bob Cappadona, president and CEO of VNA’s Environmental Solutions and Services business, “The work we do at Gum Springs is consistent with the aspirations that we all have for a cleaner world and cleaner future for our children, because we provide the most scientifically proven method for managing complex waste materials in a way that protects our natural resources. That’s why we are celebrating these pioneering initiatives with our colleagues and neighbors in Arkansas.”

Veolia North America offers water, waste and energy management services to commercial, industrial, health care, higher education and municipal customers in North America.