Twence expects to receive the definitive building permit soon for a third incineration line. This third line was prompted by the lack of sufficient incineration capacity both in the Netherlands and in the German part of the EUREGIO. It will enable Twence to contract to process waste from Germany as well. The new incineration line will offer the capacity for an extra 220,000 tonnes of waste per year, in addition to the 300,000 tonnes already processed each year by the existing two lines.

The ceremonial first pile is scheduled to be driven into the ground before the end of this year, so the plant can already be operational in 2008. In the meantime, the site next to the existing plant is currently being prepared for building the third line.

In designing this third line, extra investments were made to increase the energy yield by producing renewable heat. The biomass power plant, which is also currently under construction, is likewise designed to produce a high electrical yield. Once these business units are operational, Twence will be producing enough energy to provide for the needs of 144,000 households. That is nearly 60% of the households in Twente.

The electricity from a waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration plant is considered to be 47% “green” energy, while 100% of the energy produced in a biomass power plant is “green”. That means that, in 2008, 63% of the total electricity production at Twence will be “green” energy. In this way, Twence will be making an important contribution toward reducing the CO₂ emissions that occur when energy is generated through the burning of fossil fuels.