Denmark's Coal-to-Biomass Conversion Begins

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Work has started to convert Denmark's largest coal-fired power plant to biomass, as the country works to ditch coal-fired power by 2025.

The project at the Asnæs Power Station in Kalundborg, which will cost about 100 million euro ($114 million), will take two years to complete according to Danish energy giant Ørsted (Fredericia, Denmark), formerly known as DONG Energy A/S. Denmark's government wants to phase out coal-fired power by 2025. Ørsted has previously announced that it will phase out coal at all of its European power stations within the next six years. It wants all of its power stations burning sustainable biomass by 2023, making it the first of the large European energy companies to decide to phase out coal for the production of electricity and heating completely. For additional information, see February 17, 2017, article - DONG Phasing Out Coal by 2023.

Asnæs consists of two units: Unit 2 and Unit 5, which both use coal. Unit 2 was built in 1961 and has a capacity of 142 megawatts (MW) and a total of 193 MW district heating and process steam. Unit 5 was built 20 years later in 1981 and is Denmark's largest power station unit, with a capacity of 640 MW electricity and 308 MW district heating and process steam. Units 2 and 5 are operated alternately to produce district heating, process steam and electricity.

The new biomass-fired plant will have a capacity of 25 MW electricity and a total of 129 MW district heating and process steam. The plant will burn mainly wood chips, and commissioning is expected in late 2019. The conversion from coal to wood chips will result in an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of about 800,000 tonnes, Ørsted stated. The biomass-fired plant will be built as a separate unit in new buildings at the Asnæs site. The conversion will include a new conveyor system and wood chip storage.

"By 2023, we'll have phased out all use of coal at our power stations," said Thomas Dalsgaard, executive vice president and chief executive officer of bioenergy & thermal power at Ørsted. "With the conversion of Asnæs Power Station, we and our customers are taking an important step towards becoming coal-free."

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.

Project(s): 300293416 Plant(s): 1074726