PELLETS EC approves support for Lynemouth biomass conversion Bioenergy International No 83, 7-2015 17 In May 2014, Sturmberger Pelletsproduktionen GmbH, a subsidiary of Austrian timber merchants Sturmberger GmbH opened its gates in Wels, Austria, known by many as the location of the World Sustainability Energy Days and the European Pellet Conference. The 45 000 tonne per annum capacity facility is the latest Austrian pellet plant built using the “PELLET.TOWER” concept of Austrian compatriot, Teccon Konstruktionen GmbH. – The pellet plant also sets top standards in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation for local customers, said Dr Christian Rakos, Executive Director of proPellets Austria and President of the European Pellet Council (EPC) explaining with the following calculation. Local residues, residual heat and renewable power The sawdust is sourced from nearby sawmills with an average transport distance of less than 50 km. Transport of the raw material to the pellet plant results in CO2 emissions of approximately 4 kg CO2 per tonne. The pellet plant is located next to the regional municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment plant and waste heat from this plant is used to dry the sawdust by means of a low temperature belt dryer. The specific power consumption of the pellet plant is 130 kWh of electricity for the production of one tonne of pellets. Electricity is supplied by the local utility Wels Strom that uses 90 percent renewable sources for power generation, which results in 46.4 Enova pledges NOK 138 million for commercial biocoal plant kg CO2 emissions per MWh electric energy. Consequently electric consumption of the pellet plant leads to emissions of only 6 kg CO2 per tonne of pellets produced. Another 1.5 kg of CO2 is attributed to the operation of a wheel loader and forklift at the pellet plant. After production pellets are finally transported to the end-users. Upper Austria is a region with a relatively high density of pellet use. Over 27 000 households or 4.5 percent of all households use pellets for heating in this region. Consequently the average transport distance from the plant to the end-consumer is around 60 km resulting in another 3.6 kg CO2 emission per tonne of pellets. 99 percent reduction The total CO2 emissions for pellet production and home delivery add up to 15.1 kg CO2 per tonne of pellets or 3.1 kg CO2/MWh of primary energy. In contrast, heating oil is generating emissions of around 269 kg CO2/MWh. – Thus a local household customer that switches from heating oil to pellets from the Sturmberger plant can reduce CO2 emissions from heating by a massive 99 percent. This is surely a message that fits well into the on-going climate discussions, said Rakos suggesting that all pellet producers should do a similar CO2 calculation exercise for their product. BI83/5130/AS 99 percent carbon dioxide reduction with local pellets The Norwegian innovation agency Enova SF has announced its intention to invest NOK 138 million in a commercial-scale biocoal plant subject to grant approval by the EFTA Surveillance Authority. To be built by Norwegian advanced pellet technology providers Arbaflame, the 200 000 tonne per annum capacity plant will be located in Follum at the site of a shuttered paper mill, which was acquired in 2012 by Viken Skog Group, the largest forest owner cooperative in Norway. – Biocoal can be a very important contribution to reducing the planet’s total CO2 emissions by replacing fossil coal. It makes it a future-oriented form of energy that can also help to give Norwegian forest industry a much needed boost, said Rolf Jarle Aaberg, General Manager of Trek Lyngen AS, a subsidiary of Viken Skog Group charged with developing forest-based energy and chemical products at Follum. Apart from jobs the new plant will require around 500 000 m3 of roundwood per annum. – We need more legs to stand on and the switch to green economy creates new opportunities for the forest industry. Thus it is good news as favourable conditions and support from funding agencies brings the project a step closer to realisation, commented Monica Mæland, Minister for Industry in a statement. BI83/5079/AS In a recent update Rentech, Inc., reported on its two Canadian pellet production plants, which have had operational issues. In November the Atikokan facility achieved record weekly production of around 1 850 tonnes gaining on its design capacity of 2115 tonnes per week or 110 000 tonnes per annum. The Wawa facility has resumed pellet production, having been offline to modify the log in-feed system and complete the most critical phase of its conveyer replacements. Wawa has been operating at approximately 30 percent of design capacity since coming online, and is again shipping pellets to the port of Quebec, for delivery to Drax. BI83/5136/AS The European Commission (EC) has concluded that UK support for the conversion of Lynemouth power station from coal to biomass complies with EU state aid rules finding that the project will ”further EU environmental and energy goals without unduly distorting competition.” In December 2014 the UK notified plans to subsidise the conversion of the 420 MW coal-fired power plant to wood pellets in the form of a premium paid on top of the market price of the electricity generated, a ”Contract for Difference” (CfD). Lynemouth will receive aid until 2027 and, according to UK estimates, generate about 2.3 TWh electricity per year. The plant is due to use about 1.5 million tonnes of pellets per annum sourced from North America and Europe. The Commission opened an in-depth investigation in February 2015 to assess whether the terms and conditions of the UK support, and in particular the financial calculations and estimates regarding key cost parameters, would avoid overcompensation. The Commission is now satisfied that the submitted parameters are robust and present no risk of overcompensation nor did it find any evidence of market distortion in the global wood pellets market. It is satisfied that the measures will not lead to undue market competition distortions for other woodbased products. BI83/5135/AS Rentech Canadian plant update A cause for cake, Olav Brevik (left), Viken Skog; Björn Knappskog, Arbaflame; Oskar Gärderman, Enova; Rolf Jarle Aaberg, Trek Lyngen and Espen Lahnstein Norwegian Forest Owners Association.
Bioenergy International no 7 December 2015
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