GDF Suez Fires Up Belgian Biomass Plant

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--GDF Suez (Paris, France) and its subsidiary Electrabel SA (Brussels, Belgium) have fired up their new Rodenhuize biomass plant in Belgium as part of a growing trend toward biomass co-firing at coal-fired plants.

Following an investment of €125 million ($170 million) the former coal-fired unit has now been converted into a 100% biomass-fired plant. With a generating capacity of 180 megawatts (MW), the biomass conversion is claimed to be the world's largest. GDF Suez is currently involved with converting a 190MW biomass-fired power plant in Polaniec, Poland, which will be commissioned at the end of 2012.

The Rodenhuize plant is capable of generating enough electricity for approximately 320,000 homes and will reduce CO2 emissions by 1.2 million tonnes annually. The plant is jointly owned by Electrabel (73%) and Ackermans & van Haaren (27%).

The new unit completely replaces coal with wood pellets that have been certified as coming from sustainable sources. A third of the wood pellets for the new Rodenhuize unit is sent by boat to the port of Ghent from the Pacific BioEnergy production facility located in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Electrabel has signed a long-term contract for 225,000 tonnes of biomass per year.

"This achievement is a world first in terms of environmental performance," claimed Sophie Dutordoir, general manager of Electrabel. "It is one of a kind for its scope, the technology used and its environmental features, and is a major contribution to the achievement of the goals set by the European Union. This project dovetails perfectly with our strategy to develop diversified facilities and is in line with the ambitious commitments that the Group has pursued in renewable energy."

The U.K. is home to a number of large co-firing projects. Last year, Drax Power Limited, part of Drax Group plc (LSE:DRX) (Selby, England), burned 1 million tonnes of biomass at the country's largest coal-fired power plant, the 4,000-MW Drax plant in North Yorkshire. Further south, the U.K. subsidiary of RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany), RWE npower (Swindon, England), is currently converting the 1,100-MW coal-fired Tilbury Power Station in Essex to biomass. The project is expected to be complete by the end of the year, and will be capable of generating 750 MW.

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