The Soc Son waste-to-energy project is located in Nam Son Waste Treatment Complex in Hanoi, the largest one in Vietnam will start operating this August.
The move came to help handle the issues of waste treatment in Hanoi, a very frustrating problem for residents living near the Nam Son Waste Treatment Complex.
In recent years, the Nam Son complex has been in the news several times for a long-running dispute over land compensation that repeatedly caused local residents to block entry to it, resulting in trash piling up around the city.
Being aware of the importance of thorough waste treatment in a large city like Hanoi, the municipal government has invested a lot of resources to modernize waste collection and treatment in recent years.
The construction site of Thien Y waste-to-energy plant in Hanoi, March 2021. Photo: Van Nhi |
The Soc Son waste-to-energy project, with a capacity of handling 4,000 tons of solid waster and 1,740 tons of wastewater per day, was approved by Hanoi’s authorities in late 2017 with a total investment of VND7 trillion (US$303 million).
The project’s investor is Hanoi-based Thien Y Environmental Energy JSC and its contractor, Chinese Metallurgical Group Corporation General Contractor MCC (China).
On May 28, the plant entered the first phase of operation after 21 months of construction.
As operated, it will burn 4,000 tons of solid waste (two-thirds of the city’s garbage) a day and producing 75 MW of electricity annually using European technology. Of that sum, the plant will consume 15-20% and sell the rest to Vietnam Electricity Corporation (EVN), the country’s sole power distributor.
The plant has five incinerators and three generator sets. Under favorable conditions, the plant will generate electricity after 15 days of burning waste. It is expected all three generators will operate at once in November this year, said Li Ai Jun, deputy general director of Thien Y Environmental Energy.
According to the Hanoi Department of Construction, the city currently discharges 6,000 tons of waste each day. Most of the volume is buried at Nam Son Waste Treatment Complex.
It is hoped the Soc Son waste-to-energy project would reduce pollution that for years has affected daily life in the capital city.
