Theo Rietkerk, member of the Overijssel Provincial Executive (left), and Henk Holterman, member of the Regge and Dinkel Water Board Executive Committee (2nd from right), turn off the gas supply and start the flow of steam while project leader Andy Roeloffzen, Twence director Jan Rooijakkers, and operations manager Huub Nijkamp look on.

By using its own steam instead of gas burners to purify the flue gas from its waste incineration plant in Hengelo, Twence will manage to save 2.7 million cubic metres of natural gas each year. On Thursday, 4 June 2009, Theo Rietkerk, member of the Overijssel Provincial Executive, and Henk Holterman, member of the executive committee of the Regge and Dinkel Water Board, ceremoniously shut off the flow of gas to the first incineration line and opened the new steam pipeline. The second incineration line will undergo the same transformation during its annual overhaul this autumn.

Switching on the flow of steam heat was part of the official presentation of the comprehensive new environmental permit for Twence’s site at Boeldershoek. This new permit replaces the nine individual permits that Twence has had for its various individual units in connection with the Environmental Management Act and the Pollution of Surface Waters Act.

In presenting the new permit, Provincial Executive member Rietkerk commented on how important it was that Twence is being given the opportunity to modify its plant in this way. "This adjustment will lead to a total annual savings of 2.7 million cubic metres of natural gas. And that, in turn, will mean a reduction in CO₂ emissions amounting to over 5,000 tonnes per year. That will make a huge contribution towards achieving the Province of Overijssel’s ambitious goal to produce 30% fewer CO₂ emissions by 2020. As the person in charge of the portfolio for the Environment, that is obviously very good news to me."

Time-saving

Rietkerk also pointed out that the new permit will save a lot of time, both for Twence and for the province. “It used to take the province about 1500 hours each year to process the permits for Twence and just as many hours to enforce those permits. With this modernised permit, we can save time. The situation has also improved for those who live nearby. With this single, comprehensive permit, people can see exactly which standards the company needs to meet.”

“The new permit doesn’t just give clear-cut and stringent environmental guidelines; it also gives the company more responsibilities and tasks,” Twence director Jan Rooijakkers pointed out. “Where as the ‘old’ permit often focused primarily on the means and less on the ends that were to be achieved, the new permit is more goal oriented. That offers Twence an opportunity to further develop itself as a sustainable company and to look for new ways of improving work processes and methods.” As an example, Rooijakkers pointed to the way the system for purifying flue gas has now been optimised. The new permit simplifies the procedures necessary for making such adjustments.

Collaboration

Water Board official Henk Holterman emphasized that the current permits are the product of intensive collaboration between the province, Twence and the Water Board. “As a result we now have just two permits that are optimally coordinated and that therefore form a sort of Siamese twin,” Holterman said. “I am happy that there is now a single permit for the entire site, as that provides greater clarity for everyone concerned: for the government bodies, for the company and for everyone else who lives and works in the area." The Water Board official also touched on the dynamic of Twence. “When we consider the idea of setting up a fermentation plant and creating a bio-energy park, we actually also see ourselves as a possible supplier of base materials such as grass clippings.”