12%
OF ALL
SUSTAINABLE
ENERGY
COMES FROM
WASTE
Sphere
#34 2013
18
GOiNG DUtCH: tHe LOweR COUNtRieS
AND HiGHeR HwL ASPiRAtiONS
>>
he Dutch have a long
history of defying the odds
through hard work and
clever solutions. They have
always been merchants
and innovators to make the unthinkable
happen. The whole country is made
possible by making parts of the sea fertile
land. The scale of the engineering they have
developed is unprecedented and enduring.
In the modern Netherlands, that same drive
to make “something” out of “nothing” has
seen them turn garbage into gold.
The Dutch are the world leaders in taking
waste and turning it into something
valuable. They took the seafloor from the
sea and made it into arable, habitable
land. They have become so good at these
transformations that they take rubbish from
others to create energy.
The Group took notice. This is not their first
venture in the waste-to-energy sector, but it
is the biggest. After acquiring New Zealand
waste management business EnviroWaste
in early 2013, AVR has become the latest
investment in Cheung Kong Group’s portfolio
in the Netherlands.
The deal is a joint purchase of USD1.2
billion by Cheung Kong Holdings, Cheung
Kong Infrastructure, Power Assets and
the Li Ka Shing Foundation, taking shares
of 35 per cent, 35 per cent, 20 per cent
and 10 per cent respectively. The full
name of the firm is AVR Afvalverwerking
B V. Afvalverwerking means ‘disposal’,
reflecting the company’s roots. It now does
so much more.
the dutCh plan
The Dutch are great planners. With a
massive infrastructure responsible for the
country’s very existence through a network
of dikes holding back the sea, they are
experienced in taking a long-term view.
Their energy policy is no different.
Recent Dutch energy policy demands
their energy supply to be sustainable,
reliable and affordable. The Netherlands
aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions, from
a 1990 baseline, by 80 to 95 per cent by
2050. Renewable energy is a vital part of
the plan. Given waste must also be dealt
with, the waste-to-energy development
path is a natural one. They have embraced
it with enthusiasm.
The Dutch waste-to-energy plants currently
deliver almost 12 per cent of all sustainable
energy in the country. These plants thermally
treat residual household and similar waste that
cannot be reused or recycled in an economic
or environmentally beneficial way. They are
cost-effective and reliable sources of energy
in the form of electricity, district heating or
cooling, and steam for industrial processes.
The heat and electricity delivered to housing
and industry replace fossil fuels used by
conventional power plants. Waste-to-energy
plants reduce carbon dioxide emissions and
lower the need for landfill.
In the Dutch waste-to-energy industry, AVR
is the biggest solution provider in the country.
AVR, which practises traditional waste
incineration, has developed an industrial
Energy fromWaste (EfW) platform through
the implementation of innovative growth
projects to produce an optimal mix of heat,
steam and energy.
AVR generates its income from three sources:
gate fees for processing waste; the sale of
output generated fromwaste processing in the
forms of electricity, steam, and district heating;
and the sale of recovered materials.
T
garbage into gold: avr’s energy fromwaste
ENERGY
SpH re
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