Sustainable from top to bottom

Twence switches to LED lighting in waste-to-energy plant 

On the outskirts of Hengelo-Zuid tons of waste are given a new purpose each year. Through incineration, separation and composting, energy and raw materials are extracted and find their way back to society. With the heat that is released during incineration, Twence generates enough power to provide half of all households in the  Twente (region in the Eastern Netherlands) with electricity. In order to guarantee the continuity of all the plants, operators carry out regular inspection rounds in the installations, so good visibility is important. In switching from fluorescent lighting to LED, Twence enlisted the help of itsme.

Over the years, Twence has developed into a figurehead of the circular economy in the eastern Netherlands. Every year 989,800 tons of waste is processed and converted into 484,000 megawatts of electricity and 675,000 megawatts of heat supply. And moreover, this also results in more than 200,000 tons of profitable products and raw materials such as high-quality compost and recycled metal. Bert Arends, facilities coordinator responsible for contract management in tenders for lighting, was one of the 72 employees who started working at the then brand new location in 1996. Meanwhile, this same Twence team has grown to 244 employees. And every one of them is badly needed, considering the different waste treatment facilities that are located on this vast site, among which a biomass energy plant and a VGF installation.

For incinerating domestic and commercial waste, Twence has a waste-to-energy plant with three waste lines at its disposal. The technical services department carries out control rounds to inspect the installation and carries out repairs in order to let this continuous process – the incinerators burn 24 hours a day, seven days a week – run smoothly and safely. All this requires adequate and reliable lighting. 

Lighting in need of replacement

“When replacing the fluorescent lamps it happens more and more often that the covers of the luminaires break”, says Bert. “Because the plasticisers dissolve over the years, the covers become brittle and break. Replacement parts, like those covers, proved almost impossible to obtain.” Therefore, Twence decided to replace all the luminaires in lines 1 and 2 of the waste-to-energy plant. For delivery of the luminaires Twence enlisted the help of itsme, for years one of their regular suppliers of electrotechnical materials. Installation company Croonwolter&dros, a member of the TBI group, took care of the replacement and connection. And with some 2700 luminaires that proved to be a considerable job. 
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They soon agreed on the brand, however. “SCHUCH met our demands regarding the prevention of higher harmonic pollution of the grid. This can lead to nasty consequences, such as overloading of power cables and inexplicable tripping of automatic circuit breakers. Also, these luminaires fit best with the existing situation in terms of installation system. And in my long practice I have had some good experiences with them. The same brand and type of SCHUCH lamps also hang in the biomass power plant. And there, nothing ever breaks down”, says Bert. Charles Horck who, as account manager at itsme, supervised the whole project from beginning to end explains that the SCHUCH products are imported in the Netherlands by Hateha. “itsme has worked closely together with Hateha in various projects before, whereby the quality of innovative products always came first”, he explains.

“By engaging in regular consultations, we were able to guarantee a speedy delivery at al times”

The environment where the lamps are to hang also plays an important role. “We have to deal with dirt and the conditions here are never constant. Just consider the big differences in temperature. All this affects the service life of lamps. The SCHUCH luminaires met this diversity of ambient temperatures the best and at the same time gave the best temperature range as well”, explains Bert.

More than enough advantages

To ensure a smooth process, Twence, itsme and Croonwolter&dros Installation Technique regularly met. “By keeping each other informed about what was still to come, we managed to keep the stock of luminaires at the right level”, says Charles. “And with these quantities, regular consultation was very important, so that we would be able to make timely adjustments if necessary. This enabled us to guarantee a speedy delivery of one or, at most, two days at all times.”

“We had no extra work. That means we arranged everything very well”

Meanwhile, almost everything has been installed. Thanks to LED’s longer service life the luminaires only have to be replaced after eight years, assuming a situation in which the lamps are on 24 hours a day. And because LED is more economical than fluorescent lamps, Twence also saves € 60,000 on a yearly basis. “It was a positive project and, partly due to the cooperation, everything went very smoothly. As for us: on to the next project!”, says Charles, looking back. 

And what are Bert’s own experiences with the new situation? “The level of lighting is much better. And just as important for us: it all went fine and smoothly. itsme is one of our regular suppliers. It went well between us, so that I didn’t always have to be present when itsme sat down for talks with the installer. There were no complaints, which means that we ourselves didn’t have any extra work with it. And that means we arranged everything very well.” 

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​​​​​​​The optimal cycle

At Twence, waste is not a final phase, but forms a renewable source of energy and raw materials. Incineration generates heat which is converted into electricity and thermal energy. This thermal energy is used in city heating and is partially applied as steam in industrial situations. Certain materials such as plastics, metals and paper are recyclable. The so-called bottom-ash, which remains after incineration, is purified and destined for road and waterway construction.  There is even a special CO2 capturing plant. After processing, the recovered CO2 is used, among other things, as a growth agent for vegetables and fruit in greenhouse horticulture. In addition, the organisation has a VGF installation and a biomass energy plant where 100% green electricity is generated.

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