French waste management and services company Véolia Propreté, energy services company Dalkia and distributed power services provider Clarke Energy celebrated the inauguration of the new Electr’od landfill gas-powered cogeneration plant in Plessis-Gassot, France.

The 17.3 MW renewable power generation facility is France‘s most powerful landfill gas-fueled power plant and features 10 of GE Distributed Power’s Jenbacher gas engines to generate renewable energy and heat for residents and businesses.

The new cogeneration plant — which replaces a smaller, less efficient steam turbine-boiler system — uses the landfill’s methane-rich biogas to generate enough renewable electricity to power more than 41,000 French homes (excluding heating). The electricity is sold to Électricité Réseau Distribution France (ERDF) for use by residents and businesses throughout France.

In addition to electricity, the cogeneration facility also produces 30,000 MWh/year of thermal energy, equivalent to the amount consumed by an estimated 2,850 homes.

Installing GE’s gas engines increased the power output of the landfill gas plant by 5 MW while also improving its electrical efficiency from 22 percent up to 40 percent. The new plant consists of 10 Jenbacher units — four 2.7-MW J620 gas engines, five containerized 1.1-MW J416s and one containerized 1-MW J320.

Clarke Energy, GRS Valtech and Dalkia implemented the design, construction and operation of the repowering project on behalf of Véolia Propreté. Specifically, Dalkia is leading the operation of the new Electr’od power plant, optimizing the export of power and energy recovery. Clarke Energy engineered, installed and will maintain the facility to ensure high levels of equipment availability, and GRS Valtech provided the equipment for the landfill gas pre-treatment process.