The new biomass-fired boiler for the district heating network in Givors starts up

Since it was brought into service in 1970, the Les Vernes boiler plant had heated the equivalent of 1,500 homes in the town by burning natural gas and fuel oil then distributing heat in the form of hot water. 

Thanks to the contract that the Greater Lyon authorities awarded to the Idex Group in 2017, the boiler plant in Givors now uses biogas to cover 55% of its needs. 

A few weeks ago, it took the next step, starting up a new 4.2 MW biomass boiler, combined with a flue gas heat recovery system attached to a heat pump. 

To enhance eco-efficiency, the wood used to fire the biomass boiler comes from forests in a 100 km radius of the plant and from packaging products at the end of their useful life (pallets, crates, etc.). 

Idex set up an innovative process to harvest heat from the biomass boiler’s flue gases, which connects to a heat pump, to improve heat production yields. 

It added a hydro-accumulation heat storage system to optimise biomass consumption in late spring, summer and early autumn. 

With these upgrades, Givors’ district heating system will avoid 4,300 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year – and it was awarded an eco-friendly label by Amorce, an NGO, for the second year running. 

The extension has increased the network’s capacity by 80%, enabling it to heat the equivalent of 2,700 homes. Givors’ 9 km network is thus heating more homes as well as schools, a swimming pool, sports facilities and office buildings across the town.

Also as a result of the move to green the network by transitioning to biomass, subscribers in Givors will see a 14% drop in their heating bills this year compared to last year.