Dive Brief:
- Veolia North America began operations at a mass burn combustion facility in Burnaby, British Columbia, serving the metro Vancouver area. It won the contract for the facility in October.
- The facility was previously run by Reworld and its predecessor Covanta for 25 years. It opened in 1988.
- The contract began March 3 and is worth up to $245 million. The facility processes about 240,000 metric tons of waste annually, about 25% of the region’s waste.
Dive Insight:
Reworld did not participate in the request for proposal process issued last year by Metro Vancouver, the regional body that owns the mass burn facility, according to a statement from the former operator. A spokesperson attributed that decision to an “evolving commercial and geographic landscape.”
That decision mirrors Reworld’s choice not to continue operating other solid waste facilities on the U.S. West Coast, including facilities in Oregon and California. It has doubled down on its East Coast presence, including through the recent acquisition of Connecticut-based Red Technologies. The company is also pursuing new capacity in Connecticut.
ADDED BETWEEN EDITS: Reworld’s private equity owner, EQT Infrastructure, sold a 25% stake in the business to GIC, manager of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. The parties involved in the deal characterized it as an opportunity to accelerate Reworld’s growth plans. Following a rebrand last year, Reworld has invested in environmental services divisions beyond waste-to-energy.
France-based Veolia characterized its pursuit of the facility as part of its GreenUp strategic plan, which guides the company's investments toward low-carbon energy production. This is the only waste-to-energy facility Veolia operates in Canada, though it owns 60 such facilities globally. Veolia won a contract to operate Toronto’s anaerobic digestion facility in October, which produces renewable natural gas.
The GreenUp plan has also guided Veolia's investment in PFAS destruction equipment. Veolia plans to double its North American business, and recorded revenue in the region of 3.3 billion Euro in 2024.
The Burnaby plant generates approximately 180,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually through steam. It sells the electricity to local utility BC Hydro.
Metro Vancouver, is also developing a district energy system that is expected to triple the amount of energy the facility can recover, according to a release. It expects to provide heat and hot water to up to 50,000 homes through the system.
Denis Chesseron, country director and CEO of Veolia Canada, said the company would leverage its expertise to assist in the new energy system's development in a statement.
"We are very proud to continue to work with Metro Vancouver to provide this safe, reliable, and essential waste management service to the region," Chesseron said in a statement. "As a global leader in ecological transformation, we don't just want to provide a high-quality service. We want to establish increasingly efficient models based on our combined expertise."
Veolia’s operations and maintenance contract for the facility covers five years with two potential five-year extensions.
