Inauguration of the Green Valley Energie power plant

Press release — Inauguration of the Green Valley Energy plant on 25-06-2025

PEARL Infrastructure Capital, Norske Skog Golbey and Veolia announce the commissioning of Green Valley Energy, the largest green energy plant in France from waste wood, on the Golbey industrial site.

The biomass cogeneration plant intended to supply thermal energy to the new production unit of the paper manufacturer Norske Skog Golbey has been in production since January 1, 2025 and was received on May 30. This installation contributes to the decarbonization of the activity of industrialists on the Golbey platform and to the reduction of their dependence on natural gas.

Paris, June 25, 2025 — Three years to the day after Pearl Infrastructure Capital, Norske Skog Golbey and Veolia launched the construction of the Green Valley Energy (“GVE”) project on the Golbey paper site, the three partners welcome the industrial commissioning of this energy plant, which aims to meet the needs of local manufacturers by providing competitive and non-fossil energy from biomass. GVE will avoid the emission of more than 210,000 tons of CO₂ per year.

Winner of the last CRE Biomasse call for tenders (CRE 5-3), this biomass cogeneration unit using class B recycled wood is the largest of its type in France. As of 2025, it will produce the equivalent of 200 GWh of green electricity on an annual basis, i.e. the consumption of more than 40,743 households, as well as 700 GWh of heat for manufacturers. Thermal energy primarily supplies the Norske Skog Golbey paper site and the electricity produced is injected into RTE's national network under a 20-year contract of sale to EDF Obligation to Purchase.

The wood waste constituting the fuel for the boiler is collected mainly in the Grand Est region and from neighboring regions, in accordance with the supply plan validated by the administration. Norske Skog Golbey, through the GV Bois structure, a joint venture with Pearl Infrastructure Capital, exclusively ensures the supply of the energy plant with class B recycled wood. The fuel preparation platform will host 340,000 tonnes of B wood per year, of which 100,000 tonnes will feed the existing biomass boiler at the Norske Skog Golbey site. Waste from the industrial stationery process is also incorporated in a mixture with wood in order to be recovered as energy. Norske Skog Golbey ensures the removal of all the steam produced by GVE under a long-term contract, allowing it to benefit from a guaranteed supply of green thermal energy in competitive conditions.

GVE has also entrusted the operation of the installations to Veolia, which will manage and maintain the cogeneration plant and the biofuel preparation platform.

GVE represented an investment of over 200 million euros. Pearl Infrastructure Capital, the main shareholder and investor in GVE (80%) alongside Norske Skog Golbey (10%) and Veolia (10%), structured the financing of this asset in the form of a €150 million non-recourse bond debt and provided most of the required equity to GVE, the entity behind the cogeneration plant and the fuel preparation platform.

This industrial ecology project supports Norske Skog Golbey's strategy to convert a newsprint line into corrugated paper and to supply the entire site with only recycled paper and cardboard. GVE's installations allow the site to benefit from an alternative to imported gas and to strengthen its competitiveness while maintaining the 355 existing jobs, in addition to 40 new jobs created. GVE also provides a sustainable and regular outlet for class B wood waste transformed into green energy.

“This achievement by GVE is first and foremost emblematic in terms of its size and the amount of capital committed to the operation. It is fully in line with our investment strategy and complements PEARL I's asset portfolio, which now includes 12 assets, all of which contribute directly to the production of green energy that is controllable and continuous. It is also emblematic because it allows us to invest by contributing to the energy transition at the service of local manufacturers by offering them 100% renewable and sustainable thermal energy, while supplying green electricity to the national grid using cogeneration technology. An exceptional job was carried out by our internal teams and by the manufacturers to deliver these installations only four months late while respecting the initially planned budget. This is a remarkable performance in the complicated international context that marked the construction period,” says Pierre Rellet, co-founder and partner of Pearl Infrastructure Capital.

“We are delighted with this association with Veolia and Pearl Infrastructure Capital. This project considerably strengthens our economic and environmental competitiveness by giving us access to a carbon-free energy source. It supports the Norske Skog Group's strategy to become a leading independent supplier of recycled corrugated cardboard,” said Yves Bailly, CEO of Norske Skog Golbey.

“Veolia is positioned as a major partner for manufacturers in their ecological transformation. We are very proud of this project, which contributes to strengthening the decarbonization of the region and to developing new clean and local energy capacities,” said Jean-François Nogrette, CEO of Veolia's France and Europe Special Waste Zone.

“We are delighted to support Norske Skog Golbey in the implementation of its industrial transformation project since 2018. Whether by supplying the factory with paper and cardboard sorted at our sorting centers or via this power plant for producing energy from waste wood, we are once again concretizing our involvement in the development of a circular industry in France. This project is fully in line with our Green Up strategy and illustrates our ambition to support territories towards energy autonomy. Our decarbonization and local energy production program, of which the Golbey paper site is a remarkable example, demonstrates our ability to create sustainable and innovative solutions for a successful ecological transition.”

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