Landfills present Brazil with 'big potential for biogas production'
Brazil has significant growth potential for biogas production due to its large sanitary landfills. And Suez Brasil wants to get into that business in the coming years.
The unit's president Charles Chami talked to BNamericas about Brazil's potential to grow in energy production through the waste segment, producing biogas from landfills, incinerators or recuperation plants.
BNamericas: Which potential does Suez see to expand its energy generation business through waste management?
Chami: Suez is already present in Brazil's waste market, through recycling programs for companies, but we have a lot of knowledge about the different processes for energy generation through waste. We believe this market will grow in the country. This is a normal path for the entire world. Industries are interested in the recuperation of waste to produce energy or to obtain secondary feedstock.
BNamericas: Which solutions does Suez develop?
Chami: The incineration process basically burns waste to produce energy. We already operate 55 incineration plants in the world where we treat 9Mt of waste and produce 7TW per year, most of it in Europe. There is also the treatment of waste from landfills, which are very common in Brazil. Suez Group operates over 100 landfills in the world, where we treat 20Mt and produce biogas equivalent to 1TW. Another possibility is the recuperation of waste through production plants, mainly used in the cement industry. We have 20 of these in the world.
BNamericas: And which of these solutions would fit the country?
Chami: Brazil has a lot of landfills, so it has big potential for biogas generation. But we have knowledge about each process and we have to study which solution would be the best for each region, talking to mayors, cities, and industries. For example, more tonnes of waste are treated in landfills than in incinerators, but less power is produced. And, although incinerators produce more power, they cost more than landfills. There needs to be an open dialog to see the priority of the city, because costs vary. We also need to see the composition of waste in each area, since humid waste, for example, makes the incinerators less efficient.
BNamericas: How long do you think it will take for new opportunities to appear in Brazil?
Chami: We do not have any tender at the moment. We are looking at projects that could be initiated to see the possibility of building an incinerator, but it's still not viable to compete with landfills. This happened many years ago in Europe, but they had to increase power production and reduce space used for landfills, so it changed. But a project of this type needs a lot of studies. An incinerator takes two to three years to start operating and right now, in the middle of an elections process, no tender of this kind will be launched. If it happens, it will be in the second half of 2019.
BNamericas: Does Brazilian legislation encourage this type of project? What could be changed?
Chami: Currently, laws are good from an environmental point of view. What could change to help the country go from landfills to prioritizing incinerators is altering the price of the entrance of waste in landfills, as Europe did. At the end of the day, industries look at the costs. But this is a matter of priorities and that is why I believe Brazil still needs time to start talking about incinerators. A change in culture is needed.
BNamericas: What are the main difficulties for a foreign company to enter this segment in Brazil?
Chami: I know there are local companies that manage landfills, but I do not know if they have biogas generation programs. For a foreign operator to enter this market, it needs to understand the Brazilian market, which is mainly landfills, and to develop a strong relationship with the municipalities. There is also a need for big initial investments.
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