AVR Rebounds: Full Heat Supply Restored to Eneco’s Grid After 18-Month Recovery from Devastating Fire

AVR Rebounds: Full Heat Supply Restored to Eneco’s Grid After 18-Month Recovery from Devastating Fire

(IN BRIEF) Following more than 18 months of repair work, the AVR waste processing plant in Rozenburg has fully resumed heat supply to Eneco’s heat grid after a major fire in September 2023 disrupted operations. Eneco’s swift actions—switching to heat from Uniper and deploying emergency boilers—ensured that the 46,000 customers experienced no interruption in service. Reconstruction began on 1 January 2024, with waste incineration restarting on 1 October 2024 and complete repairs, including new steam turbines, expected by early 2026. Both AVR and Eneco emphasized the importance of their longstanding partnership, which enabled a rapid, coordinated response that maintained continuous service and demonstrated the resilience of their collective heat supply system.

(PRESS RELEASE) ROTTERDAM, 31-Mar-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — After more than 18 months of extensive reconstruction and repair work, the AVR waste processing plant in Rozenburg has successfully resumed supplying heat to Eneco’s heat grid. The gradual reactivation of the plant over recent months culminated in a full-capacity restart earlier this month. This achievement marks a significant recovery following the abrupt shutdown on 21 September 2023, when a major fire forced an immediate halt in operations. In response to the incident, Eneco promptly switched to heat provided by Uniper and installed emergency boilers throughout the city, ensuring that the 46,000 customers connected to its heat grid experienced no disruption. With AVR now back online at full capacity, the emergency measures have been decommissioned.

Although the fire caused extensive damage to the facility, no injuries were reported. In the aftermath, most waste destined for AVR was diverted to alternative processing sites, with a portion stored for future processing. Once the necessary permits were secured, the reconstruction efforts at AVR began on 1 January 2024. By 1 October 2024, the plant’s residual waste incinerators were fed with waste once again, gradually restoring heat output to its previous levels. Complete repairs, including the replacement of steam turbines for electricity generation, are expected to be finalized by early 2026.

Michiel Timmerije, AVR’s Director of Energy, commented, “Immediately after the fire, our highest priority was to ensure our customers continued receiving heat. Thanks to our long-standing partnerships with Eneco and other value chain partners, not a single home was left without warmth. We are immensely proud of our coordinated response.” Ron Wit, Eneco’s Director of Heat, added, “The sudden unavailability of AVR highlighted the risks of relying on a limited number of large heat sources. This experience underscores the necessity of investing in robust backup solutions. We are very grateful to Uniper for their swift support and to our teams for installing emergency boilers quickly, which provided us with enough capacity during peak demand.”

Just before the onset of winter, emergency boilers were installed at strategic locations such as Albeda College, near the Ahoy event centre, and at the WSG site. While the boiler at Ahoy has since been removed, the units at WSG will soon be relocated to Eneco’s new Groenoord heat transfer station in Schiedam. The boilers at Albeda College will remain in place but will not be used.

AVR now operates three separate heat sources to feed Rotterdam’s grid, with its primary source being the incinerator that processes non-recyclable household waste. Although the incinerator resumed operations in October 2024, the rebuild is still ongoing. Later this year, the installation of new steam turbines will commence electricity generation, returning AVR’s heat supply to its fully sustainable state as it was prior to the fire.

Eneco and AVR are very pleased to have restored uninterrupted heat supply for Eneco’s customers and are proud to continue their robust partnership in the years ahead.

Media Contact:

Mirjam Achthoven
Woordvoerder
mirjam.achthoven@eneco.com
+31639666535

SOURCE: Eneco