Sunday, July 25, 2010
RWE Betting on Bio-Coal
RWE Innogy, a Dutch subsidiary of the giant German utility RWE, recently announced the construction of a plant to produce torrefied wood pellets--so-called "bio-coal"--which can be used as a substitute for coal in coal-fired power plants.
According to RWE, bio-coal could set the ground for the decarbonisation of "our existing coal power infrastructure."
The new plant, which will be built by a joint venture of RWE Innogy and Topell Energy, a world leader in torrefaction technology, will initially have a yearly production capacity of 60,000 tons of pellets. The plant will be operational by 2011.
Torrefaction involves a thermo-chemical treatment of biomass that removes water and volatiles and ultimately produces a solid fuel that resembles coal.
Essent will be the first company to use the produced pellets to be fired alongside coal in a plant for the first five years of production. The Essent coal-fired power plant has been tested to be capable of up to 50% biomass co-firing.
RWE currently consumes 40 million tons of coal per year and is committed to cutting this amount by 20% by the year 2020. Biomass is the only way forward, according to RWE executives.
WIth that in mind, the company is proceeding with the construction of one of the world’s biggest wood pellet plants. The plant, to be built in the United States, in the State of Georgia, will have a yearly output capacity of 750,000 tons. The pellets will be used in pure biomass power plants as well as for the co-firing of coal and biomass in the U.S. and Europe.
Monday, 26 July 2010
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