Westenergy is an important part of circular economy. Energy in waste is converted into electricity and district heat in Westenergy’s modern WtE plant, and bottom slag becomes raw material for new production processes. Target-orientation and continuous improvement direct the company operations.
From a productional point of view, the year 2018 was a very successful one as more waste than ever before was processed in Westenergy’s Waste-to-Energy plant – 191 000 tonnes!
We aim at developing and improving the WtE plant’s operation so that the environmental impacts of the plant will remain as minor as possible.
The fuel used in Westenergy’s Waste-to-Energy plant is source-separated municipal waste, and in this type of material, quality and energy content is relatively inconsistent. The quality of the fuel defines the efficiency of the entire process which makes waste quality inspections very important.
Occupational safety is preparation and cooperation. We aim at creating an open atmosphere which enables the entire staff to promote health and safety at work.
The most important objective regarding safety at Westenergy is to prevent occupational accidents and determined work has been carried out to reach that goal. There is an objective for the number of the staff’s near-miss reports and safety observations (120 annually), and altogether 161 such situations were reported in 2018.
Westenergy’s WtE plant was in operation for 8 369 hours in 2018 and the availability of the plant was remarkable – 95,5 %. Due to the skilled operating staff and maintenance team, even demanding situations were quickly and safely resolved.
In 2018, Westenergy’s plant produced 364 gigawatt-hours of district heat, which is over 40 percent of the consumption of district heat in the Vaasa region. In addition, 106 gigawatt-hours of electricity was produced in the plant in 2018 which corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of some 7 000 households.
We aim at promoting awareness of the waste-to-energy industry with open communications. We inform people actively about current topic and thousands of people visit the WtE plant every year.
Westenergy emphasises effective flow of information, and already when the Waste-to-Energy plant was being planned, people living in the company’s operating area were informed about the company and the plant’s operation. Westenergy has remained an interesting place to visit, and in 2018 approximately 3 000 people visited the plant.