From waste to wealth

With NIB financing, the energy company, Eidsiva Energi, is constructing a new waste-to-energy plant in eastern Norway that will produce bioenergy based on local waste.

The environmentally friendly solution to waste treatment will contribute towards a switch from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy for electricity and district heating in the region.

The loan agreement, totalling EUR 40 million, is earmarked for the construction of the waste-to energy-plant which will be able to produce approximately 200 GWh of energy. The district heating network capacity will be doubled as a result.

“We expect to be able to utilise as much as 70% of the energy in the waste as heating and electricity,” says Tormod Botheim. He is head of the renewable energy department at Eidsiva Energi’s own bioenergy company, Eidsiva Bioenergi AS.

He adds that the extension of the regional district heating system will enable new users to hook up to the system and gain access to the new cost-effective and environmentally friendly energy alternative.

Waste of energy

“Without the right infrastructure and customers, many waste incineration plants let the energy generated go straight out through their chimneys. Proximity to users of energy, like industry, is key in running a waste-to-energy-plant,” Ola T. Dahl, Head of Eidsiva Bioenergi’s Hedmark region, explains.

He says that the new plant, named Trehorningen, already has a customer base for 50 GWh of district heating energy.

Trehorningen is strategically located in the Hamar municipality, where a significant part of the households producing the waste and the consumers of the generated heat, such as district heating and industry, are located. Upon completion, by the end of 2011, the plant will treat up to 72,000 tonnes of waste a year.

The waste incineration plant will have a turbine with the capacity to produce 40 GWh of electricity per year in addition to the generation of steam for local industry and the production of heat for the district heating system.

“Norway is lacking infrastructure for waterborne heating systems. The threat of climate change is pushing Norway to turn towards this type of system and it is highly unlikely that future waterborne heating systems will be based on fossil fuels.

Bioenergy has a huge growth potential in Norway and we feel confident that we can make the new waste-to-energy plant profitable,” Mr Dahl says, adding that public support and propitious financing, like the loan from NIB, are playing an important part in reaching this goal.

Mr Dahl and Mr Botheim admit that the heating distribution network for bioenergy is much better developed in neighbouring Sweden and Finland.

Energy from waste

“Norway has been spoilt by easy access to hydropower and oil. As much as 60 per cent of the electrical power is used for heating. This is a waste of “noble” energy. Electrical power is the cleanest form of energy and the only form that can be used to run machines, computers and other high-tech appliances. Norwegians should keep warm by using warm water, the least noble form of energy, easily generated from bioenergy, Mr Dahl says.

“Transmission capacity to other countries must increase so that the surplus of electricity can be exported to coal-dependent countries in Europe to reduce greenhouse emissions on the whole continent,” he adds.

According to the Norwegian think tank, Climate Benefit, the export of 30 TWh wind- and hydropower per year could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 30 million tonnes if it replaces coal-fuelled power production in Europe. It equals more than half of all greenhouse gas emissions in Norway.

Mr Botheim and Mr Dahl are calling for a broader debate on new forms of renewable energy and are hoping it will be brought up during the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December (COP15).

“The public debate on renewable energy is mainly focused on hydro, solar and wind. However, bioenergy is an important element in efforts against greenhouse gas emissions, as it is a carbon-neutral form of energy,” says Mr Botheim.