Northern European energy company Gren announces plans to invest more than EUR 200 million in Latvia to build a waste-to-energy plant in Acone. The new plant will use the most modern and safest technologies and is expected to be operational in 2029. 

Ilkka Niiranen, Gren CEO: “In Europe, there are more than 500 operational waste-to-energy plants, which provide competitive energy prices and reduce landfilling. Latvia is one of the last EU member states, where such a solution is not used. Gren’s experience in Northern Europe, including the Baltics, will help to carry out a project of this scale.”

Andris Vanags, Country Head of Gren operations in Latvia: “Riga needs competitive heat energy, and our resource will be waste that currently, after sorting, ends up in Latvia’s landfills. For the planning, design, implementation, and operation of the waste-to-energy project, we will use our best experience from Klaipeda, Lithuania, where a similar power plant has been successfully operating for 11 years.”

“The new plant will strengthen energy independence and security and ensure the diversion of waste residues from landfills. Within the project implementation framework, investments will be made in the national economy, securing a cleaner environment, and creating infrastructure for further development,” Vanags added.

The project foresees that the new plant will use for energy generation sorted, unsuitable for recycling, non-hazardous municipal and industrial waste, which would otherwise end up in a landfill. Wood residues and low-quality biomass will also be used. Fuel supplies will be carried out by local entrepreneurs, in closed-type trucks and their unloading will take place in a closed, safe, and controlled room, preventing dust and odors from getting outside in the environment.

It is planned to use from 150 to 200 thousand tons of fuel per year.  The plant’s heat capacity is planned to be 50-70 MW, while the electrical capacity – 15-20 MW.

The waste-to-energy plant will be constructed in such a way that no odors escape from it. A special flue gas cleaning system will purify the flue gases generated during the production process, ensuring significantly lower emissions than those permitted by current legislation. The plant will be equipped with a continuous emissions monitoring system, ensuring constant control and transparent availability of performance indicators to the public and regulatory authorities. Waste-to-Energy needs to go together with effective reduction, reuse, and recycling systems for industrial and household waste streams. Gren’s role in the circular economy is to develop the world-leading energy recovery assets and work together with waste management companies, municipalities, and local government.