Materials used that are waste (EN2)
Waste, both industrial waste and household waste, is a small but important part of Vattenfall’s fuel mix. It is used for heat production and electricity generation, both in waste incinerators as well as in co-combustion with other fuels. Almost 100% of the waste is from external sources, and the use of waste as a fuel is increasing since society is depending on efficient energy recovery, with low emissions, of combustible waste fractions that cannot be recycled. Power plants that have a permit to combust waste are strictly regulated in terms of flue gas cleaning and ash management (see EN22).
Waste incinerators are located in Uppsala, Sweden, and in Hamburg and Lauta, Germany. Waste incineration plants in Rostock and Rüdersdorf, Germany will be commissioned in 2009.
Co-combustion of waste is carried out at four large lignite-fired power plants in Germany. A maximum of 5% waste is combusted together with the lignite. Vattenfall will continue trials and evaluations for further co-combustion.
Some small and medium-sized heating plants in Sweden also use industrial waste. Vattenfall does not currently use waste for electricity or heat production in Poland, but investigations regarding different options are being made with the support from Vattenfall in Germany and the Nordic region.
Sweden | Finland | Denmark | Germany | Poland | Total 2008 | Total 2007 | Total 2006 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount of waste as fuel for electricity and heat generation (TWh) | 1.76 | 0.04 | 0 | 5.41 | 0 | 7.21 | 6.64 | 5.71 |
| Percentage of combustion fuel input that is waste | 37.8% | 1.8% | 0% | 2.8% | 0% | 3.1% | 2.8% | 2.4% |
The use of waste as fuel is rising steadily, since using non-recyclable waste for energy recovery is an important service to society. No new waste incinerators were commissioned in 2008. The higher use of waste as fuel in 2008 is due to increased generation in existing facilities and increased co-combustion.
