RWE Awards Contracts For Scotland's Largest Biomass Plant

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The key contracts for Scotland's largest proposed biomass power plant have been announced by RWE npower renewables (Swindon, England), part of German energy company RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany).

The company has awarded the contracts for the planned £200 million ($315 million) combined heat and power plant at Markinch in Fife to Metso (OTC:MXCYY) (Helsinki, Finland) and Norway's Aker Solutions (Oslo). The project represents the biggest biomass investment to date by RWE.

Aker has been a awarded a contract worth £115 million ($180 million) to provide design, supply, installation, construction and commissioning for the 50-megawatt (MW) biomass renewable energy plant at the Tullis Russell Papermakers plant near Fife. Metso has been contracted to provide a circulating fluidised bed boiler with a capacity of 155 megawatts thermal and a flue-gas treatment plant in a contract worth £75 million ($117 million). The new power boiler will be part of a cogeneration plant that will supply the paper mill with heat and electricity from biomass--mainly recycled wood--and replaces the existing coal-fired power plant, which must be closed in accordance with the European Union's Large Combustion Plant Directive. The new plant will reduce the CO2 emissions from the plant by 250,000 tonnes annually, a 72% reduction.

"The combined skills and expertise of our chosen contractors Metso and Aker Solutions will be a major asset during the construction of the new Tullis Russell biomass power plant," said Stephan Lohr, RWE's head of biomass. "Whilst initial groundwork has begun, construction will begin in earnest later this year, and the power plant is scheduled for operation in late 2012."

Lohr added: "This project is RWE's largest investment to date in biomass based power generation and part of our ongoing commitment to invest 1 billion euros per annum in renewable energy. In addition to this project, we are developing plans for a similar biomass plant in Lincolnshire, with an installed capacity of 65 MW. Across Europe, we are aiming to build biomass plants with a total installed capacity of around 390 MW by 2013."

Chris Parr, CEO of Tullis Russell Group, commented: "This project heralds significant economic and environmental benefits for Scotland. As well as helping to secure over 500 jobs at Tullis Russell, it will create over 50 permanent jobs in the operation of the power plant and a new biomass fuel processing facility, and as many as 400 further jobs during the construction phase. The removal of 250,000 tonnes of fossil fuel CO2 each year from our local environment will make an enormous contribution to our relentless efforts to minimise the environmental impact of our operation on the local community."

Lennart Ohlsson, president of Metso said: "We are very happy to have this opportunity to work with RWE npower renewables and help reduce CO2 emissions in Scotland through the development of this new biomass plant."

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