Covanta’s new EfW facility in Dublin, Ireland, began operations in 2017 and is designed to provide highly efficient energy recovery in line with European Union policy on waste. The facility has exceeded our expectations on all counts and will deliver more sustainable waste management for the Dublin area for many years. The environmental performance has been outstanding–our first stack test results were 71.1–99.97 percent below license limits.

Covanta Dublin processes up to 600,000 metric tonnes of waste per year that would otherwise go to landfill and supplies enough clean energy for up to 80,000 homes annually. The plant’s district heating system will have the potential to provide enough steam heat for up to 50,000 more homes. In addition to generating renewable electricity continuously, the plant will reduce Ireland’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, eliminate the need to export or landfill waste, and enable Ireland to become more self-sufficient at managing its residual waste. The plant employs approximately 60 full-time highly skilled operators and support personnel.

Key Facility Features

  • Widespread use of variable frequency drives, which reduce electricity use.
  • Industry-leading 9 percent parasitic internal plant load, maximizing electrical output to the grid.
  • All plant water use supplied by stormwater or gray water from local wastewater treatment plant.
  • Almost all motors are fitted with variable frequency drives. This being the case, the facility’s parasitic load at 9 percent is among the lowest in the industry.
  • The ash bunker is sized for over 12,000 tonnes, which allows for less daily vehicle movements from the facility. The ash is loaded out every 10 to 14 days in 4,000 tonne shipments versus daily load out from the plant.

See how the Dublin EfW facility works.

For more information, please visit our Dublin Waste to Energy Facility website.