State-of-the-art Technology for New Renergia Zentralschweiz AG EfW Plant

Construction of a new energy-from-waste facility in Perlen near Lucerne, Switzerland, is due to begin in late summer 2012. On April 12, 2012, Hitachi Zosen Inova (formerly Von Roll Inova, Switzerland) signed contracts to deliver the combustion and flue gas treatment technology for the plant. This major project, worth CHF 320 million overall, is the largest climate protection initiative currently under way in Central Switzerland.

The client commissioning the new energy-from-waste installation is Renergia Zentralschweiz AG, a consortium set up by eight waste management associations in Central Switzerland to create an economically and environmentally sustainable waste management system across the region. Once it is up and running in 2015, the Perlen plant will process around 200,000 tonnes of waste from all six cantons in Central Switzerland to produce thermal energy. The facility will set new standards in Switzerland in terms of energy efficiency and environmental friendliness.

Hitachi Zosen Inova will contribute various innovations from its research and development to the new project, such as the Inova combustion grate and the Inova filter system for flue gas treatment. These innovations draw on 75 years of experience and stem from permanent ongoing development, with more than 470 reference plants worldwide. These technical innovations will ensure that the new energy-from-waste facility is more efficient than existing installations, as well as optimising operation and maintenance. Under the order totaling more than CHF 80 million, Hitachi Zosen Inova will supply components for combustion, steam generation, and flue gas treatment.

The energy-from-waste facility consists of two combustion lines each processing 12.5 tonnes of waste per hour, and will have a capacity of 94 megawatts of thermal energy. The energy released by the combustion process in the form of steam will be used both as process steam in the Perlen paper factory and for generating electricity.

The 155 gigawatt hours or so of electricity it produces every year will be enough to cover the requirements of around 38,000 households. The waste heat will benefit the nearby Perlen paper factory and the environment in equal measure: by using waste heat instead of 40 million liters of heating oil a year in the manufacturing process, the paper factory will be able to reduce its carbon emissions by around 90,000 tonnes. The Perlen facility will replace the EfW plant in Lucerne, which has reached the end of its useful life.

Now definitive, the job for the new Perlen plant is the second major order won by the Swiss energy-from-waste technology leader Hitachi Zosen Inova so far this year. Formerly known as Von Roll Inova, the company has already been awarded the contract to act as general contractor for the Ferrybridge project in the UK (an order worth around CHF 330 million).

“Hitachi Zosen Inova impressed us with their total commitment in various phases of the tendering process. We chose Hitachi Zosen Inova due to their professional services across the board, the price, and the ideal combination of innovative solutions with technology that has been tried and tested over many years,” said Dr. Franz Xaver Muheim, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renergia Zentralschweiz AG. “We are pleased that a Swiss company will be handling the two main technical lots for Renergia.”