Waga Energy, Veolia commission French landfill installation

France-based landfill gas-to-energy technology provider Waga Energy and Frace-based Veolia have commissioned a renewable natural gas (RNG) production unit at the Granges landfill in Burgundy in eastern France.

The landfill is operated by Veolia’s subsidiary, Valest. The unit will use Wagabox technology developed by Waga Energy to upgrade the gas spontaneously emitted by on-site landfilled waste into RNG, a renewable substitute for fossil-based natural gas. The RNG will be directly injected into the natural gas distribution network to supply households and businesses.

Capable of purifying 375 standard cubic feet per minute of raw gas and producing up to 85,300 British thermal units (MMBtu), or 25 gigawatts, of RNG per year, the unit can supply more than 3,000 homes while preventing emissions of around 3,300 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year into the atmosphere.

RELATED: Waga Energy starts up French installation

The Granges landfill processes up to 130,000 tons of waste per year, Waga says. Previously, the landfill upgraded biogas in the form of electricity and heat using two cogeneration engines. The Wagabox unit will replace one of them.

This marks the sixth RNG injection project undertaken in France by Veolia and Waga Energy in the last six years. The Wagabox units located at Veolia landfills offer a combined installed capacity of 800,000 MMBtu per year, supplying over 35,000 households and avoiding the emission of more than 40,000 tons of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere each year.

“This sixth RNG project carried out with Veolia reflects the successful cooperation between a large multinational company and a young and innovative company, joining forces to make a concrete contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” says Mathieu Lefebvre, CEO of Waga Energy. “I am pleased and proud of our constructive collaboration, and particularly the impact of our jointly developed projects in an effort to protect the planet.”