Tag Archives: power
Casting a Wider Feedstock Net
By Tim Portz | August 20, 2013 The conversion of half of its generating capacity from coal to biomass has placed Drax Group and its power station in Drax, England, among the top stories in the biomass-to-energy sector. Once complete, Drax Group will own and operate the largest biomass-derived power station in the world. But while the bulk of attention is given to the conversion activities at the power facility, the innovation generated by this transition is certainly not limited to the plant alone. The pellet facility, located just 6 miles east of Drax in the village of Goole, was built in 2008, fully commissioned in 2009, and may well be the world’s first commercial-scale pellet facility processing significant quantities of dedicated energy crop inputs, predominantly miscanthus. This 100,000-ton-per year facility has added energy crops to its input stream, and the crop now represents about 40 percent of the material consumed at the facility. Wheat straw and rapeseed straw make up the rest, representing 45 percent and 15 percent of the input volume, respectively. Once pelletized, miscanthus pellets can deliver between 16.8 and 17.1 gigajoules per ton (GJ/t). Comparatively, wood pellets typically generate between 17 and 18 GJ/t. Drax Group is diligently working to build the most sustainable biomass supply chain possible for the power station. Commenting on the role that energy crops like miscanthus will play in this endeavor, Melanie Wedgbury, head of external communications, notes, “Miscanthus presents a long-term, dedicated fuel with great sustainability credentials. It can be grown on marginal land and is a viable option for U.K. farmers. The product does not require any mechanical drying and can be processed through pellet mills that are designed for straw pelleting with some modifications.” In order to keep the facility in Goole adequately supplied with the requisite volumes of miscanthus, Drax currently has supply agreements with nearly 120 farmers in the area. Drax’s initial contracts were with producer groups only, avoiding individual contracts. Realizing that in order to achieve the volumes it was targeting, Drax would also need off-take contracts with individual producers, and thus formed a producer program titled Green Shoots Programme. Drax’s decision to offer off-take agreements to individual farmers provides them with the surety they need to procure capital and make the investments necessary to establish the crop on their land, including the purchase of harvesting equipment. “For farms with marginal land or areas of the farm that are expensive to farm, this is an easy decision,” Wedgbury says. “Cash flow is an issue for smaller farmers, however, banks and finance companies will now support this activity on farms.” Establishing and growing required input volumes is only a part of the challenge Drax has worked to overcome. Effectively pelletizing the fibrous miscanthus came with a steep learning curve, and for this, Drax worked hand-and-glove with its pellet mill supplier Andritz. “Andritz has been very helpful throughout the project at Goole and the collaboration has resulted in a joint learning program, for both Drax and Andritz, when tackling the processing of difficult materials, such as miscanthus,” says Wedgbury. While Goole’s production volumes represent a tiny fraction of the 6 to 7 million tons of biomass the power station will require, it remains a vital aspect of the company’s long-term biomass strategy, and continues to deliver valuable discoveries for Drax. “Energy crops and the Goole pellet plant have created a year-round opportunity for local growers, haulers and labor forces, as well as a source of usable sustainable biomass,” Wedgbury adds. “Wider than that, it has been an essential part of Drax’s learning curve in understanding how pellet mills operate and has informed our decision making for other investment opportunities in the biomass supply chain.” Author: Tim Portz Executive Editor, Biomass Magazine 651-398-9154 Continue reading
Prototype Pellet Plant Breaks Ground
Chip Energy has broken ground on a biomass recycling and pelletizing plant in Goodfield, Ill. Once complete, the prototype plant will be capable of producing 100 tons per day of condensed biomass from a variety of feedstock sources, including wood waste, energy crops and agricultural residues. In addition to pellets, the facility will have the ability to produce briquettes and logs. The plant is expected to be operational during the third quarter of this year. The plant is being constructed from recycled shipping containers configured in a vertical fashion, which results in a footprint spanning only 70 feet by 104 feet, but reaches 70 high. Paul Wever, president of Chip Energy, said the design will increase the efficiency of the facility. Wever also operates a construction equipment company that prototypes and builds specialized tools for the off-highway equipment industry. He has leveraged that experience to develop the pellet plant, with the aim to supply the equipment and technology to a wide range of customers, particularly those in the power and cellulosic fuels industries. Continue reading
Biomass Energy Growth Flags As Official Support Wavers
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3baaaee2-04d6-11e3-9ffd-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2cPVXDIJu By Guy Chazan The chimneys of Drax Power Station are seen through a field of wheat near Selby, North Yorkshire.©Reuters Drax power station near Selby, North Yorkshire The UK biomass industry received a shot in the arm this week, as a Danish pension fund pledged to invest £128m in a new 40 megawatt power plant at Brigg in Lincolnshire to generate electricity from straw. But the good news masked a difficult outlook for the sector. A more accurate indicator came on Monday, when RWE npower closed a coal-fired power plant at Tilbury, Essex, which had previously been planned for conversion into one of the world’s largest biomass power stations. Biomass, once seen as pivotal to Britain’s hopes of meeting its renewable energy targets, is hitting the buffers as the government rethinks support for the sector. Its waning fortunes have come as a shock to many in the renewables sector, which had viewed biomass as among the most promising non-fossil fuels. Coal-fired plant operators, threatened with shutdown under stringent EU environmental laws, found they could extend their life by burning wood pellets. Some green groups have long questioned the benefits of growing trees and crops for fuel, fearing it could lead to deforestation. However, the main reason for the sour mood in the sector is not environmental opposition but doubts over government subsidies. Many developers had hoped their projects would qualify for the coalition’s new system of support for low-carbon technologies, the so-called “contracts for difference”, or CFDs. But in a recent consultation document, the government said new dedicated biomass plants that produce electricity but not heat – most of those now on the drawing board – should not be eligible for CFDs. The Department of Energy and Climate Change said it continued to support the conversion of old coal plants to biomass, which it said “provide value for money and help to meet [the UK’s] climate targets”. But it said government analysis showed that new-build dedicated biomass plants offered less value for money, measured by carbon savings per pound spent, compared with other renewable technologies such as offshore wind. That judgment has caused dismay in the industry. “It’s damped the mood,” says David Hostert of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “Projects that have been in limbo for the last four to five years are now even further away from financing.” Biomass was long central to the UK’s ambitions of deriving 15 per cent of its overall energy from renewable sources by 2020. Ministers say bioenergy, which includes biofuels such as ethanol as well as biomass, has the potential to provide about 30 per cent of the 2020 target. Some progress has been made. A government scheme, the Renewable Heat Incentive, which helps businesses meet the cost of installing technologies such as heat pumps and biomass boilers, has been largely successful. Biomass is also expanding fast in combined heat and power projects, such as on-site power generation initiatives at supermarkets, although subsidies may be harder to obtain after next year, when the rules will be tightened. Despite the setback at Tilbury, which failed to qualify for a subsidy, other projects to convert existing coal-fired plants are going ahead with government support. Drax, which has a 4000MW coal-fired power plant in Yorkshire, has launched a £750m investment programme to switch three of its six units to wood pellets. Eggborough, a 2000MW coal-fired plant in Yorkshire, is also pressing on with a conversion plan. But other projects, especially those aiming for generating capacity of more than 60MW, are struggling. “Some people are on their knees,” says Paul Thompson, head of policy at the Renewable Energy Association. The government has also introduced a 400MW cap for new dedicated capacity, with the result that enthusiasm for biomass has been severely dented. “A year-and-a-half ago people hoped there would be an explosion of investment in the sector,” says Bloomberg’s Mr Hostert. “Now the outlook is still good compared to other countries in Europe but certainly not as rosy as it was 18 months ago.” Continue reading
