Hanoi builds $175 mln waste-to-energy plant

The Seraphin waste-to-energy plant at the Xuan Son solid waste treatment facility, to be funded by multiple sources, will have a treatment capacity of 1,500-2,000 tons each day and have an electricity production capacity at 37 MW. Construction is expected to be completed in 20 months.

To Van Nhat, founder of Amaccao Corporation, the project’s main investor, said the plant would utilize European tech to burn trash and use the heat for electricity production, while meeting the EU 2010/75/EC emission standards.

Metrics on the plant’s emissions, wastewater, smells and noises will be sent to Hanoi People’s Committee and the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment online. They will also be publicly available on digital boards outside the plant for locals to see.

Nguyen Trong Dong, deputy chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee, said the city has shifted its focus towards treating waste using technology in recent years, considering it to be a resource to be recycled and to generate energy, which protects the environment and boosts economic growth.

Seraphin will be Hanoi’s second waste-to-energy plant. The first one is in the Nam Son solid waste treatment facility in Soc Son District, with a treatment capacity of 5,500 tons a day and is expected to begin operations in the second quarter.

Hanoi currently releases around 7,000 tons of trash a day, with most being buried.

The Xuan Son treatment facility currently treats solid waste from 12 southern and western Hanoi districts. On average, the facility receives around 1,500 tons of waste a day, of which 1,400 tons are buried and the rest burned.

In accordance with a solid waste treatment scheme for Hanoi by 2030, with vision until 2050, the capital would have 17 solid waste treatment facilities in total. But so far, only two have entered operation.