When you read the word "incinerator", the first thing that comes to mind is the pollution that is produced. Something we would never want near our city, let alone in the middle of it. But nothing comes from diamonds and in Copenhagen, Denmark, they know it well: for this reason they have thought about how to give a second life to waste and to do it in the best possible way, first of all taking into consideration the city and its citizens. Thus, thanks to the combination of innovative technology and integrated architecture, a waste-to-energy plant is taking shape - that is, aimed at obtaining energy from the recovery of waste - which will become one of the best in Europe in terms of efficiency energy, waste treatment capacity and attention to the environment, but also in terms of visual performance and community acceptance.
A giant of almost 100 meters, but a friend of the city, which will take the waste from it and return electricity, heating, raw materials but also new recreational opportunities. In fact, it is a facility that – in addition to the obvious cutting-edge technological capabilities – will be able to count on an artificial ski slope open to the public and with three different levels of difficulty that will extend throughout the roof and an almost 90 m high wall. meters on which it will be possible to simulate the climbing of famous alpine climbs.
The plant will therefore become a point of reference throughout the world, for its ability to combine the latest discoveries in terms of technologies with an architecture that will take it beyond being a "simple" industrial plant. All this just 5 kilometers from Radhuspladsen, the city's main square: it is therefore not just an industrial installation, but a real tourist attraction: a new point of reference for the city of Copenhagen. The plant, which will be completed (by the company Amager ressourcecenter – ARC) by 2017, is located in Copenhill / Amager Bakke and belongs to 5 Danish municipalities, including that of Copenhagen.
What does the energy efficiency of the plant derive from? It will be able to use more than 100 percent of the energy from the fuels that will power it, with a 28 percent energy efficiency rate, reducing sulfur emissions by 99.5 percent and minimizing nitrogen oxide emissions by a tenth, thanks to a technology that cleans gas emissions. What is surprising is the capacity of the plant, which replaces a 45-year-old one, to process all types of waste as energy. The waste will then be converted into heating, electricity, recycled raw material and (re)usable water.
A new approach to waste, therefore, made up of its reduction, recycling and conversion into energy. Amager Bakke is placed in a broader context: the project of a renewable energy system involving not only Copenhagen, but the whole of Denmark, which has the objective of transitioning from coal-fired plants to wind, solar and geothermal energy . The future of our cities depends on extracting energy from waste and the Copenhagen plant is an example of technology and architecture at the service of the local community, capable of giving life to a virtuous circle, which will be so good for the city, and become a point of reference all over the world.
From the site of Eniday.
