Veolia North America

The Gum Springs project exemplifies a radical commitment to sustainability and environmental innovation in hazardous waste treatment. By integrating a 5 MWac onsite solar installation and advanced heat-capturing technology, Veolia sets an industry benchmark for decarbonization and energy efficiency. This project reduces the facility’s carbon footprint and demonstrates how renewable energy can be integrated into industrial operations. Veolia's investment in Arkansas is a remarkable step toward a cleaner, more sustainable future for the industry.”

E+E Leader Judge

As part of a visionary effort to make the hazardous waste treatment complex in Gum Springs, Arkansas, the most environmentally sustainable operation of its kind in the U.S. Veolia in 2024 installed a 5 MWac onsite solar project with the goal of providing renewable energy to a new thermal treatment facility, which is under construction and scheduled to open in late 2025. The solar installation, completed in fall of 2024, covers over 30 acres, utilizing single-axis tracker solar PV equipment, on the plant grounds, and also provides excess power to the regional grid during times of peak solar production.

The primary environmental benefits of the solar project include:

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions: Solar panels generate electricity from a renewable source, the sun, without producing any direct greenhouse gas emissions during operation. By generating a portion of the plant's electricity needs from photovoltaic panels, the existing (before decommissioning) and new incinerator can reduce reliance on conventional power sources.
• Reduced air pollution: Conventional power plants that burn fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, release various air pollutants, including particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. By utilizing solar energy, the plant can reduce its indirect contribution to air pollution associated with electricity generation from these sources, improving local air quality and reducing potential health impacts.
• Increased energy independence: solar power generation can reduce the plant's reliance on the external electricity grid, leading to cost savings and increased energy resilience.

The project faced several challenges before it could go forward. For example, changes in Arkansas regulations, impacting net metering rates, were set to go into effect in October of 2024. This regulation change threatened to greatly impact the economic viability of the 5 MWac solar project if the system was not completed before the October 2024 grandfathering deadline. Comprehensive project management by Veolia’s Sustainable Industries and Buildings teams and a partnership with a local solar development and local electric co-op were paramount in overcoming this challenge and meeting the project deadline.

The company’s efforts reflect its commitment to modernizing and transforming the Gum Springs site, setting a new industry standard for delivering critical waste management services that lead to greater efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability in the industry.

By taking unprecedented steps to become more sustainable, the Veolia Gum Springs facility will be able to generate more than 90 percent of its electricity needs onsite. Over the next 25 years, the result will be a 90 percent reduction in Scope 2 carbon emissions from electricity consumption compared to similar facilities consuming 100% of its electricity from the current Arkansas grid.

Along with the solar project, Veolia is also investing in other sustainability initiatives at the Gum Springs facility including:

• A forest management program, covering over 1,000 acres surrounding the facility, which includes over 600 acres of active reforestation and the planting of 100,000 trees in 2025.
• A first-of-its-kind innovation for capturing heat to generate electricity. This feature will make use of a 7-megawatt steam turbine to generate power.
• Advanced technologies for monitoring wildlife and biodiversity near the facility. In partnership with the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris, France, a cutting-edge LEKO (Light Emission and Kinetic Observation) biodiversity monitoring tool is installed on the property, using sensors to listen, identify, and count species in the surrounding habitat.

These initiatives demonstrate Veolia's vision for creating a brighter future for the hundreds of communities in the U.S. and Canada where the company provides essential environmental services in waste, water and energy. Veolia’s global GreenUp strategy for growth hinges on a commitment to providing innovative solutions for environmental challenges, as demonstrated through the work and vision being carried out at Gum Springs.