Veolia expands North American biomass interests

Veolia has been selected to operate and maintain three biomass-to-energy facilities on the US east coast.

Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) chose Veolia Energy Operating Services, a division of Veolia North America, to take charge of the new projects in Georgia and North Carolina.

Veolia will support the startup and commissioning of the biomass projects in Lumberton, North Carolina, and Carnesville and Colbert, Georgia. Veolia has already been operating the Lumberton plant for the past year, on a short term contract. It uses both biomass and poultry litter for fuel and has a long term power purchase agreement with Duke Energy.

Meanwhile, the Georgia projects are both under construction and scheduled to go online mid-2019. According to a Veolia statement, each is expected to have a capacity of 66MW. Electricity produced by the plants will be purchased by Georgia Power under long term power purchase agreements.

“We’re excited to collaborate with GRP to operate and oversee the startup and long term operations of these important renewable energy facilities,” said John Gibson, president and COO of Veolia North America’s Municipal & Commercial business.

“These plants are excellent examples of how renewable energy projects can deliver significant economic and environmental benefits and demonstrate Veolia’s strength in operating these plants efficiently and cost-effectively.”

Once completed, each facility will use roughly 500,000 tonnes of biomass each year and employ 35 to 30 people.