Consortium to Supply Heat to Beogradske Elektrane from Energy from Waste Plant : SUEZ Signs 25yr Deal to Supply Heat from Belgrade Waste to Energy Project

A consortium lead by SUEZ has signed a 25-year contract to sell heat from the energy recovered from waste in Belgrade, Serbia.

Under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, SUEZ, within the consortium Beo Čista Energija (BCE) - comprising SUEZ, Itochu and Marguerite - has entered into the deal with municipal heating company Beogradske Elektrane to provide the Serbian capital with heat as part of the public-private partnership (PPP) signed in 2017 between the city of Belgrade and the consortium BCE to develop a project to recover energy from waste in the Serbian capital.

Awarded following an international call for tenders launched with the backing of the World Bank, the PPP provides for the design, construction, financing and operation of modern waste recovery facilities, including a new energy from waste facility and a recycling plant for construction and demolition waste.

BCE has committed to invest €285 million to build the new infrastructures that will process 500,000 tonnes of municipal waste and 200,000 tonnes of construction and demolition waste each year. Operations will be handled by SUEZ and will start gradually from 2020.

The energy from waste facility will produce up to 30 MW of electricity, plus 56 MW of heat purchased by the municipal company Beogradske Elektrane; thus reducing the natural gas consumption of its Konjarnik plant by 80% in the cold season. In this way, the project will contribute to reducing the reliance on fossil fuel.

This PPP project also includes the gradual closure of the existing Belgrade landfill located in the immediate suburbs of Vinča, on the banks of the Danube. Opened in 1977, this 40-hectare landfill is one of the 50 largest active landfills in the world and the only one in Europe to be listed by the International Solid Waste Association. Its gradual closure will contribute to improving the environmental impact as well as the water quality of the Danube.

Rade Basta, General Manager of Beogradske Elektrane, concluded: “Beogradske Elektrane is proud to contribute to this landmark project by providing Belgrade’s inhabitants and businesses with a renewable heat source consistent with the principles of the circular economy.”