Dutch group to build Palestine’s first WtE facility

Amsterdam Waste Environmental Consultancy & Technology B.V. (AWECT) will build, own and operate the first Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant in Palestine and in the wider region.

The Palestinian Ministry of Local Government (MoLG) issued a non-binding letter that the tender to develop a WtE facility has been initially awarded to the Northern Consortium consisting of AWECT (consortium leader), Koblenz Renewable Energy Amsterdam Renewable Energy, China Western Power Corp, ITEC, and MOSECO Group.

The facility, planned to be built at the current Zahrat Al Finjan landfill near Jenin, will convert 1,200 tons of residual municipal solid waste per day into clean energy and resources.

The MoLG evaluated the bidders to guarantee maximum benefits to the Palestinian people in terms of job creation, investment to the country while safeguarding environment and public health. The consortium will deploy its High Efficiency (HE) technology, and will bring US$150 million in private investment to Palestine.

Negotiations between the Government and the consortium will be the next step towards the definitive agreement.

GHG reduction and local jobs

The HE WtE plant will eliminate the need for additional landfill space while providing around 40MW of baseload electricity, roughly three per cent of the territories’ consumption. In addition, waste diverted from the landfill to this new facility will lead to a reduction of more than 400,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually.

Additional benefits include reduction of air pollution, odor, littering and lower risk of water contamination, as well as the creation of hundreds of direct and indirect local jobs.

Next steps and ramp-up

Construction of the plant is expected to start within 2022 and the project benefits from a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) and a 25-year waste concession.

“There is scope for significant GHG reduction in Palestine through the use of WtE technology,” Evert Lichtenbelt, CEO at AWECT, explained.

“As the first plant of this type in the region, the new facility will reduce emissions by a colossal 400,000 tonnes each year, following its completion.”

To develop the facility, AWECT will deploy the same expertise used to build the AEB Amsterdam facility. The plant in Amsterdam can generate 900kWh of electricity from each ton of waste and has processed over 5.5 million tons of waste since its commissioning in 2008. AWECT expects similar success in Palestine.