District Energy

‘Steel city’ ponders district heating from steel plants

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:55:00 GMT

The steel city of Sheffield in the UK is pondering the use of its most famously associated commodity, in a district energy initiative.

Engineers believe that excess heat from steel plants could be used to heat the city, significantly reducing the city’s CO₂ emissions.

According to a statement, steel could help provide a green alternative for heating Sheffield’s homes and businesses, alongside other renewable energy sources, reports the Engineer.

Experts from Sheffield University’s engineering faculty believe that the many steel plants located just outside the city centre could be connected to Sheffield’s existing district heating network to provide an extra 20 MW of thermal energy.

‘It actually costs the steel plants to reduce the temperature of the flue gas and to cool the water used during steel manufacture,’ said Prof Jim Swithenbank, who played a key role in developing the first phase of Sheffield’s district heating system in the late 1970s.

‘Recovering this heat and transferring it to the district heating network reduces the cost of heat production, improves energy efficiency and is beneficial to the environment, making a win-win situation for the steelworks and the city.’

Sheffield already has the largest district heating system in the UK, powered through an energy recovery facility that burns the city’s non-recyclable waste.

Each year this generates 21MW of electricity, enough to power 22,000 homes, and 60MW of thermal energy in the form of super-heated steam, which is pumped around the city in a 44km network of underground pipes.

This provides space heating and hot water to more than 140 public buildings and 3000 homes across the city, reducing the city’s CO₂ emissions by 21000 tonnes a year.

While some UK cities are now using their waste incineration plants to generate electricity, few connect such facilities to a district heating system.

‘The analysis we’ve carried out in Sheffield could be mirrored across other UK cities,’ said Prof Vida Sharifi, who led the research. ‘Heating buildings is responsible for half the energy use in the UK.

The government has estimated that if district heating were used across the UK in areas with high heat demand, it could supply around 5.5 million properties and contribute a fifth of the UK’s heating needs.”

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GE technology to heat and power central London

Tue, 08 May 2012 10:47:00 GMT

The first of three GE 2 MW Jenbacher CHP systems has been installed at the on-site energy centre in King's Cross, central London, UK, and the same technology is set to provide the area’s district heating, once commissioned this summer.

Together the systems will supply 100 per cent of the development's heat and offset almost 80 per cent of its electrical power demand, thanks to a deal between GE (NYSE: GE) and the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership.

All of the 70 buildings at King's Cross, from the University of Arts to the Camden Council building, BNP Paribas Real Estate's new offices and the Great Northern Hotel, will be connected to the district heating scheme.

When complete carbon emissions are expected to be a third less than 'business as usual' and up to 60 per cent less than 2001 levels.

Clare Hebbes, from the King's Cross Central Limited Partnership, said, 'Through our work with GE, we expect to exceed many of the targets we have set for King's Cross as a genuine 21st century sustainable city centre development. GE understands what leading technologies are available and how best to apply them to a piece of city like King's Cross.

This starts with the CHP and we anticipate many other initiatives in the years ahead.

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UKDEA says Heat Strategy ‘an important step’

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:21:00 GMT

The UK District Energy Association (UKDEA) has come out in support of the publication of the Heat Strategy from the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The strategy, titled ‘The Future of Heating: A Strategic Framework for Low Carbon Heat in the UK’ has been released following a period of research by DECC into the UK’s heat consumption habits.

With a large proportion of the UK’s total energy consumption being used on heating for homes and businesses across the country, finding low carbon solutions to heating needs is going to be essential if the UK is to meet its carbon reduction targets, reports H&V News.

In a statement the association said: “Whilst DECC’s heat strategy does not, at this stage, set out particular policy proposals, what it does do is give a framework for decarbonising heat, from building level through to heat networks.

Throughout the document, the support for district heating networks is made clear, with the construction of heat networks connected to low carbon sources listed as one of the three main methods of decarbonising the UK’s heat supply.

In addition to this the strategy highlights two important aims for district energy.

Firstly, to build an evidence base to identify issues and barriers for low carbon heat networks and, within 12 months, set out policy options to address these.

Secondly, to support the expansion and development of low carbon heat networks throughout this decade, through new measures.

UKDEA Chairman, Simon Woodward, said: “This strategy represents an important step forward for the district energy industry.”

“It demonstrates the UK government’s commitment to facilitating and supporting district energy schemes and gives the industry a framework on which to build good practice and wider take up of the available technology.”

“The release of the strategy has given stakeholders an opportunity to communicate their views, and each chapter sets out a number of problems that it invites readers to help answer.”

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Milanese district energy scheme to be provided by GE

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:36:00 GMT

GE (NYSE: GE)has announced that it will provide an LM6000-PF Sprint aeroderivative gas turbine and related services to Enipower S.p.A. (Eni) for its Bolgiano district heating plant in San Donato Milanese, near Milan, Italy.

The Bolgiano cogeneration plant (CHP) produces thermal energy both for district heating and cooling for Eni headquarters, municipal buildings and residential users.

The Bolgiano CHP currently produces more than 267,000 MW hours of thermal energy per year using four GE gas turbines. The network extends for about 56 kilometers and is providing heat and hot water for 20,000 Italian families.

Due to the IPPC(Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control) prescriptions and the age of the plant, Eni is taking the opportunity to upgrade the CHP by installing a new aeroderivative gas turbine and other new equipment to increase plant flexibility and efficiency.

Energy savings for the new Bolgiano district heating plant are estimated at 181,000 MW hours of thermal energy per year, equal to approximately 15,600 TOE (tonne of oil equivalent) per year. When completed, the plant anticipates an 84 percent reduction of NO_x emissions and a 20 percent reduction of CO₂ emissions.

“Growth in district heating applications is an increasing part of the larger, global mega-trend story around distributed power, or what we like to call ‘growth on decentralized power.’ In a changing world with diverse power needs, GE’s portfolio of innovative distributed power solutions, ranging from 100 kilowatts to 100 MWs, gives businesses and communities around the world the ability to generate reliable, flexible and efficient power anywhere, whether on or off the grid,” said Diarmaid Mulholland, president and regional CEO Western Europe, GE Energy.

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History made with Australia’s first low carbon energy network

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:53:00 GMT

Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore has hailed the groundbreaking new district energy system, which will link Sydney in the country’s first citywide low carbon network, and says has the potential to make Sydney one of the world's leading green cities.

"Our trigeneration network will give consumers a cleaner and cost-competitive alternative to the rising price of electricity," the Lord Mayor said.

"This network could save NSW electricity consumers as much as $1.5 bn by 2030 in avoided or delayed spending on grid upgrades and new power stations.

"It will help us deliver on our target to cut carbon emissions across the City of Sydney by 70 per cent by 2030 (on 2006 levels) - one of the most ambitious of any Australian government."

Under the agreement, Cogent, which is a fully owned subsidiary of Origin, will install a trigeneration network to supply low-carbon electricity, heating and air-conditioning to council and privately owned buildings in four low-carbon-zones across central Sydney:

The City's interim trigeneration master plan included a total of 360 MW by 2030 at a cost of $440m to provide 70 per cent of the Local Government Area's electricity requirements. Today's agreement with Origin covers the initial stages of this plan and involves a portion of the total 360 MW as projected in the City of Sydney's Interim Trigeneration Master Plan which extends to 2030.

Trigeneration energy systems can be located in basements or rooftops, run on natural gas or renewable energy, and supply electricity, heating and cooling to clusters of surrounding buildings. These systems are more than twice as energy efficient as coal-fired power stations and reduce carbon emissions by up to 60 per cent for city buildings.

Almost 90 per cent of electricity used in the city comes from remotely located coal fired power stations, which are responsible for 80 per cent of its carbon emissions.

Two new power stations are planned for NSW with a capacity of 4,000 MW, costing from $4.6bn to $7bn. If these proposed power stations were to use coal they would emit 23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year or 15 per cent of NSW's total greenhouse gas emissions and four per cent of Australia's emissions.

The study showed that a Sydney trigeneration network could save NSW electricity consumers up to $1.5bn in avoided or delayed spending on grid upgrades and new power stations by 2030.

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Swedes behind New Zealand’s district energy scheme

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:54:00 GMT

District energy schemes are on the agenda for Christchurch, New Zealand as it continues to recover from the 2011 earthquakes that created so much damage in the city.

As part of a consortium which included Swedish companies Bizcat and FVB, Aurecon undertook one of three studies, commissioned by Christchurch Agency for Energy (CAfE) in late 2011, to examine the feasibility of New Zealand's first District Energy Scheme (DES).

The proposed project would ultimately provide electrical power, space and water heating and cooling from centralised power and heat co-generation plant fuelled by various renewable sources. A network of pipes would transport hot and cold water from the plant into buildings around the city, enabling owners to dispense with their own plant and the associated building space.

The proposal is for the scheme to use renewable fuels and be capable of capturing waste energy from other sources. Similar schemes are already common in parts of Europe and can result in significant cost savings for building owners and their tenants.

Merv Altments, CEO of the Christchurch Agency for Energy was particularly pleased with the feasibility process and Aurecon’s involvement, commenting that, “Aurecon were pivotal in not only getting the feasibility study completed within a very short timeframe but also ensuring that the design concept developed was the right way to make a DES in Christchurch commercially viable.”

“Following the sequence of earthquakes in Christchurch since 22 February 2011, around two thirds of the buildings within the city centre are set to be demolished. A sustainable rebuild of Christchurch is high on the list of priorities for the City Council and the city’s residents. An innovative DES goes to the core of meeting this challenge,” Simon added.

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UK district energy ‘visionary’ retires

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:39:00 GMT

One of the UKDEA’s founding fathers and a leading light in the development of district energy in the UK, Bill Clark, is to retire from his post as Southampton City Council’s Sustainability Policy Manager after more than 30 years of service.

Mr Clark was honoured at a leaving ceremony on the 28th March 2012 by the UKDEA, in recognition of his outstanding services to district energy and significant contribution to driving forward the formation of the UKDEA.

In the time he was at the council, he has driven forward the planning and implementation of district heating systems, setting Southampton firmly on the map as a blueprint for good practice that other areas should follow. he was also part of a core group of industry professionals and stakeholders who saw a need for an organisation like the UKDEA to fill the gap in promotion of district energy, and who pushed forward the development of this successful and progressive member organisation.

The Southampton story began back in the early 80s when the Department for Energy launched a research programme into alternative energy sources. Southampton took part as an area with potential for deep geothermal aquifers, the heat from which could be used to heat local buildings.

Despite the DfE deciding after drilling that the resource in the city was too small for its original plans, Southampton pushed forwards with the project and secured the support of Utilicom to develop the scheme. Later, the partnership was taken over by Cofely and today supplies more than 40 businesses and organisations in the city with heating and cooling.

Amongst the current connections are a leisure centre, the large West Quay shopping centre, Asda, IKEA, Solent University, The Royal South Hants Hospital and many others.

In addition to this, there are hundreds of homes in the city that benefit from the network’s low cost supplies of low carbon heat.

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District heating cogeneration success for Centrax in Germany

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:53:00 GMT

Centrax Limited has won another significant order in the highly competitive German district heating market.

The UK-based industrial power systems specialist has supplied its latest CX501-KB7 generator package to Stadtwerke Oerlinghausen GmbH, south-west of Hannover, where it replaces a Centrax CX571 package installed back in 1989.

This latest investment in Centrax gas turbine power ensures more than 85 per cent of the whole district heating demand can be met by this environmentally-friendly cogeneration installation when operating in conjunction with our biomass plant, with its thermal power output of 4 MW.

“This new installation rated at 5.2 MW makes the Stadtwerke more flexible and opens up the possibility of our becoming active in the by-the-minute and short-term reserve market,” reports Peter Blome, Head Manager of Stadtwerke Oerlinghausen.

“We now have a clear additional advantage in meeting the needs of the market. Also, the new gas turbine increases the town’s security of energy supply. Both were important selling points behind our decision to invest.”

Half the entire electricity demand of Oerlinghausen can be met by the CX501-KB7 package alone. When it operates with the plant’s gas engine and biomass-fired power station and gas-fired boilers the whole town’s heating requirements can be provided, as well.

Installation of the new package required close co-ordination between Centrax and Stadtwerke Oerlinghausen to ensure the plant avoided any disruption of services to its customers. Many components including the existing boiler and the plants original foundations were used for the new CX501-KB7 installation.

Consulting Engineers for the project at Oerlinghausen, BIR (Beratende Ingenieure RICHTER), were responsible for the engineering work.

Currently Centrax has a fleet of eighteen generating sets installed in Germany powered by variants of the 501 gas turbine, six of them installed at district heating plants, providing in total over 91MW.

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District Energy Corporation set to build $10m plant in US

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:58:00 GMT

District Energy Corp is to build a natural gas plant, which will provide low-cost, efficient heating and cooling for the Pinnacle Bank Arena and surrounding private development, in Nebraska, US.

Construction on the plant will begin this month, with completion set for December or January, in time to provide heat to the newly enclosed arena.

It's the first time District Energy will rent their services to private businesses, says Steve Masters, president of the company."

Four pipes, two to carry hot water to and from the arena in the winter and two to carry cold water in the summer, will run under an alley to the arena and surrounding businesses.

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US energy secretary Chu visits thermal energy corporation

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:04:00 GMT

US energy secretary Dr. Steven Chu has visited the Thermal Energy Corporation (TECO), the district energy company that provides heating and cooling to the Texas Medical Center in Houston, the largest medical center campus in the world.

“Dr. Chu’s decision to tour TECO’s district energy system and combined heat and power (CHP) plant validates how important these technologies are to our country’s energy future,” says Steve Swinson, CEO and President of TECO. “Dr. Chu fully understands the benefits of CHP – that it doubles energy efficiency and reduces emissions

Through the Clean Energy Application Centers, the DOE is working with industry to double the amount of CHP in the US by 2030.

TECO, a not-for-profit district energy company founded in 1969, recently completed a $377 million energy infrastructure expansion integrating 48 MW of CHP. TECO’s CHP plant now operates at efficiencies of 80 per cent, more than twice as efficient as a typical utility generating station.

The CHP project, which received a $10m U.S. DOE American Recovery & Reinvestment Act award, will reduce carbon emissions by 75,000 tons a year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 305,000 tons annually, when operating at full capacity. This is equivalent to taking 52,000 cars off the road.

During his visit, Dr. Chu acknowledged the substantial energy efficiency benefits of CHP and district energy and noted, “Texas is a leader in oil, natural gas and wind power and with projects like TECO’s, Texas can also be a leader in efficient energy use.”

The energy-saving CHP system allows TECO to keep pace with the medical center’s rapid growth and ensure that the energy system supporting more than $1bn in annual medical research remains highly reliable.

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District energy for the Facebook generation

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:31:00 GMT

Aora Solar Ltd. is aiming to win clients from the “Facebook generation” with community-scale generators that double as giant sculptures and are capable of district energy provision.

The facilities, which use a combination of mirrors and fuels such as natural gas or biomass to generate 100 kilowatts of power, combine style and function to persuade design- conscious consumers to erect generators close to their homes, Designer Haim Dotan said at the inauguration of the company’s second plant.

“This project should be put on Facebook so all the children of the world can see it, not only in professional magazines,” said Dotan, who also designed Israel’s pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. “Beauty doesn’t mean that it’s more expensive. It’s down to fun and hard work.”

Aora this month began feeding power to the grid from its second prototype plant in Almeria, southern Spain, and aims to install about 50 generators this year, Chief Executive Officer Zev Rosenzweig said.

Rosenzweig said the technology can supply power to small communities or business or directly to power companies. Aora is in talks with an architect in California who wants to build one $555,000 plant as the power source for a 60-home development that will be independent of the power grid.

A dairy cooperative in Spain is also considering building a tulip and using its excess heat for pasteurizing milk and, through a technique called absorption chilling, to cool the processed milk while producing biogas for the burner from its cow dung.

“It’s a closed loop,” Rosenzweig said. “Anything that comes out of the cow goes back” into the cycle.

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UPM to build combined heat and power plant in Germany

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:32:00 GMT

Finnish paper company UPM is to build a new combined heat and power plant at the UPM Schongau mill in Germany.

The target is to significantly reduce energy costs as well as to secure the energy supply. The total investment is $112m, the company said in a press release.

The new power plant will generate process heat as well as electricity for the mill. It will also provide sustainable and energy efficient district heating for roughly 750 households and public institutions such as local school and hospital in Schongau. The renewed energy supply at the mill will be based on the highly efficient combined heat and power technology utilising gas as a fuel.

“The new gas power plant will improve the security and self-sufficiency of energy supply to our mill,” explains Winfried Schaur, General Manager, UPM Schongau. “The renewal of the energy generation ensures efficient production and will safeguard the competiveness of the mill. Furthermore, it guarantees a sustainable paper production loop based on innovative and low-emission technologies.”

The start-up is planned by the end of 2014 and the gas power plant will replace the old plant facility which has operated for more than 40 years.

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Christchurch’s $400m district energy scheme

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:49:00 GMT

Christchurch Hospital and the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) could be pivotal in getting an innovative $400m cogeneration energy scheme for Christchurch, New Zealand.

Three feasibility studies investigating aspects of a proposed district energy system (DES) say it is "very promising" and could be done in the rebuilt central city, reports the Fairfax News.

But they suggest a softly, softly approach, warning that key buildings need to be part of the scheme from its beginning and that temporary boilers on either side of the city would be needed while pipes were being laid.

The proposed project would provide space heating, water heating and air conditioning from a central power and heat co-generation plant fuelled by wood chips or wood waste.

A 10 kilometre network of pipes would transport hot and cold water from the plant into buildings. It would allow owners to dispense with their own boilers, air conditioners and chillers, and cut electricity use.

The idea was one of many put forward through the Christchurch City Council's Share an Idea campaign.

The technical study, by a consortium of Bizcat, Aurecon and FVB, recommended a "phased" scheme that could be expanded as the rebuild progresses, while the KPMG investment study said the project could be commercially successful using that phased approach.

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Aberdeen seeing the benefits of combined heat and power

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:18:00 GMT

Aberdeen's combined heat and power (CHP) district heating network reach is stretching further across the city, slashing fuel bills and carbon dioxide emissions in the Scottish city.

Work has begun to link three more properties – Constitution Court sheltered housing complex, Hanover Street Community Centre and the Town House – into the award-winning scheme which already provides 14 multi-storey blocks and eight public buildings with space and water heating. Work to link in a further eight multi-storey blocks is due to be completed in the summer.

Heating duct laying work is being carried out in the city centre and beach areas in preparation for linking Constitution Court, Hanover Street Community Centre and the Town House into the district heating network. Work to link the buildings into the network is expected to be completed this year as the city fully embraced CHP.

The cost of extending the network is being completely covered by a £1m Scottish Government grant. The cost of connecting the Town House (£34,000) and Hanover Street Community Centre (£20,000) is covered by the Central Energy Efficiency Fund and savings on the heating costs will cover the capital outlay in less than five years.

The project, which was used as a case study by the WWF in its report Carbon Countdown for homes: How to make Scotland's existing homes low carbon, has almost halved the fuel costs and carbon emissions for the buildings involved, while nearly doubling their National Home Energy Rating.

Throughout Aberdeen there are 4,500 flats in 59 multi-storey blocks, most of which are "hard to heat" homes occupied by low income households. Around 70 per cent of the occupants were living in fuel poverty.

Aberdeen City Council's Housing and Environment convener Aileen Malone said: "Anyone who wants to see the value of combined heat and power schemes need only come to Aberdeen to see what we have achieved. CHP has been one of our real success stories and our tenants are now enjoying much lower fuel bills and warmer, comfortable homes.

"As the scheme grows, so do the benefits is provides – more and more people are seeing their fuel bills slashed, significant savings are being realised on heating costs for several public buildings and the city's carbon footprint is being cut."

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London’s first EfW district heating scheme on the way

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:07:00 GMT

Heat produced from burning waste could soon be used to heat homes in the Southwark area of London under plans for the first district heating scheme of its kind in the UK capital.

Southwark council has published detailed proposals to capture heat which is normally released into the environment from the South East London Combined Heat and Power Plant (SELCHP) in Deptford. This would be piped directly to the boiler houses that serve 3000 homes across seven estates in the borough.

While many similar schemes are currently in operation in continental Europe, there are only a handful of district heating schemes in the UK which use heat from an incinerator, such as those in operation in Sheffield and Nottingham.

If approved, the Southwark scheme will be the first in London.

Opened in 1994, the SELCHP plant produces both heat and power but up until now the heat has not been utilised. Southwark expects to use around 25-30% of the heat, with the potential to grow the scheme and use more in future.

Southwark is negotiating the district heating scheme with its waste contractor Veolia, with which it signed a £665 million PFI deal in February 20

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E.ON leads CHP drive in London

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:45:00 GMT

Energy utility E.ON are planning to build their drive into district heating in the city around their 62 MW power plant in the centre of London.

"There is a heat network here that is the jewel in the crown for our push into heat, which we see as one of our main areas of future growth," said E.ON’s Sustainable Energy division managing director Michael Woodhead, speaking to businessGreen.com.

The site boasts two internal combustion engines that run on natural gas or distillate fuel, and are capable of providing 32 MW of electrical output and up to 30 MW of heat and chilled water. As advocates of CHP systems have long argued, it is significantly more efficient than generating electricity and heat separately and there is the potential to curb carbon emissions further by switching to green gas or biofuels as the primary fuel source.

The potential for district heating in the capital is exciting and E.ON are in consultation with neighbouring entities with that in mind.

"We're talking to Barts Hospital, which is just across the road, as well as a number of other organisations... London has been talking about a heat network for some time, and if you look at the map Citigen sits at the heart of a potential heat network for this area."

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London authority says CHP most effective in reducing emissions

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:21:00 GMT

Combined heat and power (CHP) and district heating infrastructure delivered the majority of London’s emissions savings in 2010 and have the greatest potential for future deployment, according to a review of London's energy policies published by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

The report reveals that CHP accounted for 50 per cent of CO₂ savings last year, with 30 per cent due to end-user efficiency and a further 10% from renewable energy. Overall, new CHP projects have led to annual CO₂ savings of 36,392 tonnes, equivalent to retrofitting cavity wall insulation in approximately 56500 semi detached homes.

Analysis of the future potential for decentralised energy published alongside the review shows that energy supplies on heat networks offer the greatest possibilities and could provide up to 27.5% of London’s energy demand in 2031.

GLA modelling found that compared to centralised renewables, decentralised energy provides cheaper energy, at a lower capital cost, while saving the most carbon per pound spent.

Commenting on the publications, CHPA Director, Graham Meeks, said: "This analysis conclusively demonstrates the importance of taking an integrated approach to decarbonising our urban areas. Greater use of district heating will allow the UK to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions for more homes and businesses, while enabling the most efficient and effective use of valuable renewable energy supplies.”

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Birmingham trigen scheme scoops awards

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:00:00 GMT

A partnership that delivers energy savings to several public and private buildings in Central Birmingham has triumphed at the Premises and Facilities Management (PFM) Awards 2011 in London.

The Birmingham District Energy Company (BDEC) – made up of Cofely (GDF Suez), Birmingham City Council, Aston University and Birmingham Children's Hospital – won the Partners in Expert Services Award and was also voted Overall Winner 2011 ('best of the best') by the judges.

The trigeneration scheme produces heat, electricity and chilled water and makes extensive use of large-scale CHP technologies, using conventional boilers for 'top up', standby and increased resilience.

The electricity from all of the CHP units is used directly via private wire connections at each of the buildings/sites where they are located. Chilled water is generated by absorption chillers, powered by heat from the CHP and boiler plant.

Since its first phase became operational in 2009, the project is estimated to have reduced Birmingham's carbon emissions by some 17,000,000 kg.

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Italian waste wood plant plumps for Jenbacher engines

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:58:00 GMT

The Villanova Mondovi pyro-gasification plant near Turin, Italy has opted to buy two Jenbacher J316 Units from GE.

GE says that the technology deployed for the Villanova Mondovi plant, which turns waste wood into energy, evolved from a similar gasifier project in Grossenkneten, Germany.

The German plant was co-financed by the region of Lower Saxony, which, GE claims, is producing the highest net electrical efficiency ever reached by a syngas cogeneration plant in this output range - between 27% and 29%, depending on the quality of the wood and the air used in the process.

With an output of 995 kW, the Villanova Mondovi project qualifies for the government’s incentive tariff, which encourages the development of smaller, geographically distributed power plants.

Owned and operated by Italian energy company Energia & Calora, the plant was commissioned at the beginning of 2011 and is supplying thermal energy for a district heating network that covers an industrial area along with private and public buildings, including the local school.

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Greenvironment and MEC Kolobrzeg in microturbine deal

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:13:00 GMT

CHP specialist Greenvironment is to install microturbines for a 113 MWt district heating scheme in Poland’s Kolobrzeg region for local utility MEC Kolobrzeg.

Greenvironment, which specializes in the use of microturbine technology in electricity generation from biogas and natural gas, is planning to put to put a 200 kWel C200 microturbine into operation as a pilot plant in spring 2012.

Microturbines benefit from high availability, low maintenance requirements, low emissions, favourable EEG and KWKG bonus compensation and flexible heat utilization, according to the firm.

Sebastian Hampel, managing director of Greenvironment Poland, says: “In the Baltic Sea area, there is a big potential for small microturbine CHP units because those are ideally suited for more than 100 four- and five-star Baltic Sea hotels with high baseload need throughout the year. The next project which is currently under review between Greenvironment and MEC Kolobrzeg is a C65 project for the first five-star hotel on the Baltic Sea.”

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