The town of Plessis-Gassot, in the Val-d’Oise, has established a biogas electricity power plant Electr’od. The plant only uses the non-recyclable waste produced by the inhabitants of the town as fuel. It has become the first French town to be powered by biogas recovery.
The operation of the plant is very simple: it is located near the waste storage site of the town and will daily receive non-recyclable waste. Using the well known chemical procedure of Anaerobic digestion, the waste is converted into Methane which is then converted itself into electricity. In short, it is the natural procedure to extract the methane from the waste.
This green initiative is clearly a part of a French bill presented by Segolene Royal, Environmental Minister which plans to increase the number of French biogas plants from 250 to 1500 by 2020. The plant will have the capacity to cater for the electricity requirements of over 41 000 homes excluding the consumption related to heating. It will have a capacity of 130,000 MWh per year.
This new power plant has double advantage for the inhabitants of the town of Le Plessis-Gassot: firstly, the town’s waste was 100% converted into renewable energy, secondly, the unit can greatly reduce the hazards of waste to the environment and residents. With only 69 people, the city will produce far more electricity than necessary. The surplus energy generated from the waste will be sold to the national electrical grid. The people of the town should see their bills decreased by 92%.
We are delighted to learn about the French biogas plant and we hope that this solution will be widely adopted throughout France and Europe. In writing, we recognize that the plant is a big step towards a green future of our planet. It would be great if all the waste produced is transformed into electricity! Do you think that a day will come when humanity will produce 100% of its energy requirements from renewable sources?