Veolia Brazil, the Brazilian subsidiary of France-headed global waste resources management and energy major Veolia Environnement SA (Veolia) has announced the commissioning of three new landfill gas (LFG) power plants on three landfills operated by the company in Brazil.
Located in Iperó, the Metropolitan Region of Sorocaba, in São Paulo (SP), and in Biguaçu, State of Santa Catarina (SC), these three landfill gas (LFG) power units have a total combined installed capacity of 12.4 MWe of renewable electricity. A methane emission source, LFG is produced by the decomposition of organic waste found in landfills.
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, said Pedro Pradanos, CEO of Veolia Brazil.
Converting this previously unused biogas into energy contributes to the better recovery of waste and Veolia is also focusing on the valorization of this energy resource to increase the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix and thus reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
By the end of 2021, landfills operated by Veolia in Brazil will capture and avoid the emission of around 45 000 tonnes of methane to the atmosphere per annum, which is about 1.26 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq), traded as CERs.
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, Pedro Pradanos said alluding to the current drought which amongst other things is affecting hydropower.
