The project was to last eighteen months for a total bill exceeding 135 million euros. Anything but trivial. Started in April 2022, the forced shutdown of the Villejean incinerator was to end at the end of 2023 with beautiful, brand new ovens and a completely redesigned smoke evacuation system. That was on paper. The reality turns out to be more complicated. In a press release released this Friday, Rennes Métropole announced the suspension of work carried out on the boilers of the oldest incinerator in France. The problem ? A battle of experts around “the interpretation of the European directive on pressure equipment”, details the metropolis.
There is no doubt that this hitch will weigh on the work schedule. “It is still too early to comment on the duration of the postponement of delivery of the equipment,” warns the community. However, the stakes are high. Firstly because the energy recovery plant may not be able to produce either heating or electricity this winter. Inaugurated in 1968, the equipment provides energy to the equivalent of 20,000 people. But also because in the absence of its incinerator, Rennes will still have to export its waste.
Since April 1, 2022, the Breton capital has been sending its bins to Brittany and neighboring regions. The vice-president of the metropolis responsible for waste, Laurent Hamon, recognized, however, that the carbon footprint of the operation would not be “very good”, particularly due to road transport. The metropolis, which usually uses very little landfilling (3% of waste), sees 20% of its bins buried during this forced shutdown.