Vicinity Energy, a decarbonization leader with an extensive portfolio of district energy systems, will partner with Kent County Department of Public Works to operate the waste-to-energy facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Vicinity and Kent County have entered into a long-term service agreement that ensures the facility will operate safely and efficiently. The partnership will save Kent County operating costs annually while reinforcing its commitment to quality service, the environment, and the local workforce.
“For more than 30 years, waste-to-energy has been a key part of Kent County’s integrated waste management system, and it allows our community to responsibly and reliably dispose of solid waste while producing local energy while reducing the amount of waste going into landfills,” said Dar Baas, director of the Kent County Department of Public Works. “We continue to invest in the Waste-to-Energy facility, and this new partnership with Vicinity will ensure it operates safely and efficiently for years to come.”
Vicinity has welcomed the existing plant employees to its team and will hire more team members to ensure safe, efficient, and reliable services are delivered to the residents and businesses served by the facility. This partnership marks a critical milestone in Vicinity’s commitment to sustainability and bringing new jobs and services to West Michigan.
The waste-to-energy facility incinerates non-hazardous solid waste from municipal and commercial operations in Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Grandville, Kentwood, Walker, and Wyoming. Each year, the facility prevents 190,000 tons of waste from going to landfill, generates enough energy to power 11,000 homes, and recovers enough steel to make 3,000 cars.
The waste-to-energy facility upholds the highest environmental standards, achieving Michigan’s Clean Corporate Citizen (C3) designation each year since 2006. The facility also meets or exceeds the strictest federal standards set forth by the EPA and other regulatory bodies and employs sophisticated clean-air technologies to achieve superior environmental performance. The plant operates, on average, 90 percent below permit limits.
Published in the March 2023 Edition