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Aspiravi and Spano build 26MWe biomass power plant in Belgium - advanced circulating fluidized-bed
Renewable energy company Aspiravi NV and wood products manufacturer Spano NV have formed A&S Energie, a partnership that will begin to build a 26MWe biomass power plant in Oostrozebeke, Belgium, next month. Foster Wheeler's Finnish subsidiary Foster Wheeler Energia Oy has been awarded the contract by Prokon Nord Energiesysteme GmbH - which will engineer and construct the plant - for the advanced circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) steam generator that will form the core of the power system.
The €90 million (US$141m) project will be located near the Roeselare-Leie canal which will make it easy to efficiently transport the estimated 170,000 tons of uncrecyclable wood waste that will be used as fuel each year.
The facility's net production will be 175GWh of green electricity per year, enough to meet the needs of 50,000 families. Part of the electricity will be utilized by Spano, but the bulk produced will be sold to the local grid.
The decision by the companies to build a medium-scale green energy plant is seen as courageous, given the fact that Belgium's energy market is not as free as some would want it to be. The market is basically controlled by the monopoly of giant Electrabel, the formerly state-owned utility, which sells electricity generated by nuclear power plants it acquired virtually for free after it was privatized.
The new power plant's fuel will be burned in a highly efficient and advanced circulating fluidized-bed (CBF) that allows for clean combustion. Spano NV, a large manufacturer of wood products, will be responsible for the supply of non-recyclable wood residue to be used as fuel. The fuel will be obtained after meeting the requirements of 'Lansink's ladder', a set of hierarchically ordered steps formally used to determine waste management options. The wood waste goes through a cascade of recycling possibilities, and only that fraction that can no longer be re-used will become feedstock for energy. Highly efficient energy production is preferred over landfill:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: wood :: waste :: circulating fluidized-bed :: renewables :: Belgium ::
The biomass power plant makes Spano NV an entirely carbon-neutral company. For Aspiravi NV the facility means an important diversification of its renewable energy portfolio, which currently consists of 22 combined heat and power (CHP) projects, 4 biogas facilities, 55 wind turbines and 2 hydropower plants.
For Foster Wheeler, the contract means the confirmation of its strength in engineering advanced boilers. This will be the fourth CFB steam generator the company has provided to Prokon Nord in the past five years. Foster Wheeler CFBs are currently operating in Prokon Nord projects in the German cities of Papenburg, Hamburg and Emlichheim. Prokon Nord is a leading German renewables engineering company with a large portfolio of biomass CHP, wind and geothermal projects.
With a share of 55%, biomass is the most widely used form of renewable energy in Belgium. The country has an obligation to meet its renewable energy targets set out by the EU: 6% of all electricity and heat should come from renewables by 2010. Even though this puts Belgium in the group of countries with a low target, the country needs to invest more into the sector, which currently only has a share of 2.5% in the energy portfolio.
References:
Aspiravi NV: Aspiravi en Spano bouwen biokracht-centrale in Oostrozebeke - July 24, 2008.
Foster Wheeler: Foster Wheeler Awarded Contract for Biomass CFB Steam Generator in Belgium - July 24, 2008.
The €90 million (US$141m) project will be located near the Roeselare-Leie canal which will make it easy to efficiently transport the estimated 170,000 tons of uncrecyclable wood waste that will be used as fuel each year.
The facility's net production will be 175GWh of green electricity per year, enough to meet the needs of 50,000 families. Part of the electricity will be utilized by Spano, but the bulk produced will be sold to the local grid.
The decision by the companies to build a medium-scale green energy plant is seen as courageous, given the fact that Belgium's energy market is not as free as some would want it to be. The market is basically controlled by the monopoly of giant Electrabel, the formerly state-owned utility, which sells electricity generated by nuclear power plants it acquired virtually for free after it was privatized.
The new power plant's fuel will be burned in a highly efficient and advanced circulating fluidized-bed (CBF) that allows for clean combustion. Spano NV, a large manufacturer of wood products, will be responsible for the supply of non-recyclable wood residue to be used as fuel. The fuel will be obtained after meeting the requirements of 'Lansink's ladder', a set of hierarchically ordered steps formally used to determine waste management options. The wood waste goes through a cascade of recycling possibilities, and only that fraction that can no longer be re-used will become feedstock for energy. Highly efficient energy production is preferred over landfill:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: wood :: waste :: circulating fluidized-bed :: renewables :: Belgium :: The biomass power plant makes Spano NV an entirely carbon-neutral company. For Aspiravi NV the facility means an important diversification of its renewable energy portfolio, which currently consists of 22 combined heat and power (CHP) projects, 4 biogas facilities, 55 wind turbines and 2 hydropower plants.
For Foster Wheeler, the contract means the confirmation of its strength in engineering advanced boilers. This will be the fourth CFB steam generator the company has provided to Prokon Nord in the past five years. Foster Wheeler CFBs are currently operating in Prokon Nord projects in the German cities of Papenburg, Hamburg and Emlichheim. Prokon Nord is a leading German renewables engineering company with a large portfolio of biomass CHP, wind and geothermal projects.
With a share of 55%, biomass is the most widely used form of renewable energy in Belgium. The country has an obligation to meet its renewable energy targets set out by the EU: 6% of all electricity and heat should come from renewables by 2010. Even though this puts Belgium in the group of countries with a low target, the country needs to invest more into the sector, which currently only has a share of 2.5% in the energy portfolio.
References:
Aspiravi NV: Aspiravi en Spano bouwen biokracht-centrale in Oostrozebeke - July 24, 2008.
Foster Wheeler: Foster Wheeler Awarded Contract for Biomass CFB Steam Generator in Belgium - July 24, 2008.
posted by Biopact team at 11:11 AM
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