Meridiam and Urbaser earlier this week signed with MPEC, the public utility in charge of district heating supply in the municipality of Olsztyn, the Public-Private Partnership contract to develop, build and operate a waste-to-energy plant in the city.

Located in north-eastern Poland, the plant will help on the management of solid municipal waste and serve the electricity and heat needs of the 270,000 inhabitants of the city.

Meridiam, which holds 80% of the project, has partnered with Urbaser (20%), a world leader in environmental management activities in three main areas: urban services, waste and water treatment.

Total project costs will amount to EUR 165 million (US$ 182.78 million) and will benefit from some European Union subsidies.

The project has a strong climate rationale as it will enable the municipality to replace its current coal-fired facilities with renewables sources to provide heat to its population. While avoiding the emissions of more than 60,000 tons of CO2 per year, this project is a concrete contribution to the fight against climate change and circular economy (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 8, 12 and 13).

This project directly contributes to European policy aiming at reducing the share of landfills as waste management tools and increasing the recovery of energy from waste. It will be a critical contribution of Poland to these EU objectives.