HEAT & POWER Vattenfall Europe AG’s Managing Director, Hubertus Altmann believes that coal is needed to ensure the transition to renewable energy over the next few decades. private energy magnate from the Czech Republic, warned one of the activists outside the conference room in Cottbus. Brandenburg’s energy minister Albrecht Gerber would prefer to keep Vattenfall, which employs 8 000 people in his state, so a phasing out of coal is for him not yet on the table. The German States of Brandenburg and Saxony want Vattenfall to continue with the process of opening new lignite pits. There are many jobs that are at stake in this part of Germany, which is already short on jobs. A buyer needed There has been a broad consensus in German society and the main parties agree to that by the year 2022 Germany’s electricity supply will be free from nuclear power and largely come from renewable sources. The goal of Angela Merkel’s grand coalition government is that green energy will account for 80 percent of electricity generation by 2050. Coal is not supposed to play any role at all by then. Before this becomes reality it is essential that Vattenfall finds a buyer, so that the owner, that is to say the Swedish Government, is able to consider a deal when it is presented by the company. Text & photos Markku Björkman BI82/5022/AS Bioenergy Internat ional No 82, 6-2015 31 Helsingør to convert CHP to biomass The Danish energy utility Helsingør Utilities has announced that it has appointed consulting and engineering company Grontmij (now Sweco) to convert its natural gas fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant in the harbour town to biomass. With the construction of a new boiler-unit and the redevelopment of existing facilities, Helsingør Utilities aims to lower CO₂ emissions, in line with the ongoing sustainable transformation of the Danish energy sector. Grontmij has been commissioned for the total project management, health and safety issues and the design of all mechanical and electrical installations. For the new facility this involves the design of a boiler unit, flue gas cleaning and condensing systems, fuel management systems and supporting equipment. In the existing plant, the steam turbine will be prepared to run on steam from both the existing and the new plant. The entire facility will have a fuel capacity of 70 MW. BI82/5054/AS Veolia Energy Services, the Irish subsidiary of global energy and environment company Veolia, has announced it has been awarded a major operations and maintenance contract by Mayo Renewable Power. Worth EUR 450 million the 15-year contract is to operate a biomass power plant in Killala, Co. Mayo, in Ireland. The 42.5 MW combined heat and power (CHP) plant will be the largest independent biomass power plant in Ireland. In addition to operating and maintaining the power production plant and the adjacent fuel processing plant, Veolia will also supply the total biomass fuel requirement for the facility. The plant will use similar technology to that applied at Veolia’s biomass facilities at Merritt and Fort St. James in British Colombia, Canada, which are among the largest plants in North America. Moreover, the operations and maintenance contract will directly create 30 new jobs at the facility in Killala. The plant will be in commercial operation in mid-2017. – This project marks a significant step on Ireland’s path towards developing sustainable energy solutions. We are looking forward to collaborating with our project partners to deliver best in class energy management for the successful delivery of this milestone project, said Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice President, Veolia UK and Ireland. Veolia has been operating in Ireland since 1990 and currently works with industry, commercial customers and public authorities to find solutions for the sustainable management of their resources. It employs 500 staff across its three business activities in water, waste management and energy. BI82/5058/AS B&W awarded multi-million build and operate contract in UK The US-headed energy and environmental technology service provider, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (B&W) has announced that a joint venture including its Denmark-based subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S, has been awarded a contract to design and build the Teesside Renewable Energy Plant near Middlesbrough, England. B&W Vølund was also awarded a separate contract to provide operations and maintenance services for the plant. B&W’s portions of the two contracts total more than US$190 million (≈ EUR 172 million). B&W Vølund, through its UK subsidiary and a joint venture with Lagan Construction Group Limited, has contracted with developers Eco2 Ltd and Temporis Capital to build the 40 MW waste wood fired biomass power plant for Port Clarence Energy Ltd. The project scope includes a boiler and environmental controls designed by B&W Vølund and its Swedish subsidiary Götaverken Miljö AB, including a dry flue gas desulphurisation system (dry FGD), fabric filter baghouse, continuous emissions monitoring equipment and a DynaGrate® fuel combustion system. The plant is designed to burn 34 US tons (≈ 30 tonnes) of waste wood per hour. Project engineering is currently underway and construction is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2018. B&W Vølund will operate the plant under a 15-year contract. PHG Energy expands capabilities with acquisition The US-based gasification technology developer PHG Energ y (PHGE) has acquired the assets of ARiES Energy of Knoxville, Tennessee (TN) adding significantly to its established business lines and formalising the ongoing partnering relationship between the companies. ARiES Energy, a solar, lighting and energy efficiency company has successfully provided solar photovoltaic, LED lighting, power conditioning and energy efficiency systems for commercial businesses, res- BI82/5067/AS idences and municipalities in the US Southeast. – Our companies have worked very closely together over the past two years in both project development and in researching ways to better serve this dynamic and growing energy market. Both PHGE and ARiES have come to realise that an integration of our product and service offerings will bring a higher level of service to our customers, and just makes good business sense, said Tom Stanzione, President of PHG Veolia to operate Ireland’s largest independent biomass CHP Energy. PHG Energy manufactures and installs industrial-grade downdraft gasification equipment that converts biomass waste into a fuel gas that can be used like natural gas to produce thermal or electrical power. In 2015 the company has been engaged to build new facilities for the City of Lebanon, TN, and for Sevier Solid Waste, a project that both companies partnered to develop. BI82/5042/AS Cont. from page 29
Bioenergy no 6 October 2015
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