Emerson Secures U.K. Coal-to-Biomass Plant Deal

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The latest coal-to-biomass plant conversion project in the U.K. is moving toward completion following the appointment of Emerson (NYSE:EMR) (St. Louis, Missouri) as the main automation and electrical contractor.

The company will help convert the 44-year-old coal-fired Lynemouth Power Station near Newcastle into a new biomass-fuelled power plant with a generating capacity of 390-megawatts (MW). The contract was awarded by Czech energy company Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH) (Prague), which purchased the plant from Germany's second-largest utility, RWE AG (XETRA:RWE) (Essen, Germany) this time last year. The then 420-MW plant, which was purchased by RWE in 2012, was sold for an undisclosed sum. For additional information, see January 13, 2016, article--RWE Sells Lynemouth Coal-fired Plant in U.K..

The conversion is expected to be completed later this year and will be fuelled by approximately 1.4 million tons of wood waste per year. The plant will be capable of generating about 2.3 terawatt hours (TWh) of low-carbon electricity per year.

In 2014 Lynemouth, which has three operational units, was one of eight projects to get financial support from the U.K. government to help convert the units for burning biomass.

Emerson said it will be responsible for demolition, engineering, installation, start-up, commissioning and coordination of work among multiple suppliers and contractors. It will install its Ovation integrated automation platform for all applications, including turbine, boiler, fuel handling and balance-of-plant processes, as well as electrical systems.

"Relying on a single supplier and a single technology platform for both the automation and electrical scope provides our client a number of benefits," explained Bob Yeager, president, Power & Water, Emerson Automation Solutions. "From a planning perspective, having a single interface and contract for design, engineering and delivery improves overall project efficiency. On the operational side, utilising one technology platform will simplify plant operation and enhance plant performance on an ongoing basis."

Emerson said the Ovation platform is designed to cope with the varying moisture content of biomass fuels, constantly monitoring levels and adjusting combustion air as necessary to improve efficiency.

There are a number of leading coal-to-biomass conversions under way in the U.K., most significantly the conversions at the country's largest coal-fired plant, Drax. Last week, Industrial Info reported on Drax Group plc (LSE:DRX) (Selby, England) getting the green light from the European Commission (EC) to convert another coal-fired unit to biomass. For additional information, see January 17, 2017, article--European Green Light for Drax Biomass Conversion.

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