Beo Čista Energija starts producing energy from waste at Vinča landfill in Belgrade

Beo Čista Energija, the joint venture operating the Vinča landfill in Serbia’s capital Belgrade, has started the production of electricity and heat from waste.

The start of waste incineration is the final phase of testing of the waste-to-energy facility, with the plan to finish it by June, according to Beo Čista Energija.

The firm said the plant, with a capacity of 103 MW, could then reach full capacity, pending numerous permits.

The waste-to energy facility is one of the most important segments of the public-private partnership (PPP) for the rehabilitation of the Vinča landfill. The new regional sanitary landfill started operation in mid-2021.

The cogeneration unit should reach full capacity by June

Information about the start of the incinerator operation was published on Beo Čiste Energija’s YouTube channel. The video is titled ‘Achievement of First Fire with Waste’.

After successfully completing cold commissioning activities, Beo Čista Energija set the “first fire with waste in energy-from-waste plant”, the first of its kind in Serbia and the Balkan region, according to the video.

The heat and power plant’s annual capacity is 340,000 tons of waste

The waste bunker can store enough material for 4.5 days of the facility’s operation. The plant’s annual capacity is 340,000 tons of waste. The estimated electricity and heat capacity is 30.24 MW and 56.5 MW, respectively.

Beo Čista Energija said in the video that it would generate enough electricity from waste to meet the needs of 5% of households in Belgrade together with heat for 10% of households.

In 2017, Suez and Itochu signed a 25-year public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with the City of Belgrade. The Marguerite II infrastructure fund later joined the project, and within the merger of Suez and Veolia, Veolia took over Suez’s share.

The investment is financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Development Bank of Austria (OeEB).

The project envisages a facility for processing construction waste and another for the utilization of landfill gas. As part of the deal, the operator agreed to rehabilitate and close the existing landfill and build the new one in line with European Union standards.