Shuttered Lignite-Fired Power Plant to Undergo Coal Conversion Process in Austria

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The lignite-fired Voitsberg power station near Graz, Austria, which has been shut down since 2006, is going to be reopened after a plant refurbishment and unit modernization. The new owner, A-Tec Industries AG (Vienna, Austria), acquired the facility in July 2008 from the former owner, Austrian company Thermal Power GmbH & Company KG (ATP), a subidiary of Verbund AG (WBAG:VAR) (Vienna, Austria).

A-Tec and subsidiary Austrian Energy & Environment Group (Graz) are planning to convert the 330-megawatt (MW) Voitsberg III into a coal-fired generating mode.

After finishing the brown coal mining in the region in 2004, ATP considered a conversion to biomass or coal-fired as uneconomical and decided to shut down and sell the facility. Voitsberg power plant started operation in 1953 with the first unit, followed by a second unit three years later. These units were decommissioned in 1983 and 1986 as the 330-MW unit Voitsberg III was connected to the grid.

The new owner is applying for recommissioning and conversion of the Voitsberg III unit and hopes to receive the permits next year. The future of the project depends on the local government, which is deciding if environmental impact studies are necessary. The Green Party and some local residents are trying to enforce the studies in order to stop the project. The new owner says the former operating approvals are still valid.

A-Tec plans to overhaul the existing equipment, a 330-MW steam turbine and boiler. Further submitted modifications are a coal discharge; conversion of the firing system; retrofit of the flue ash system, with a flue ash and waste transportation system; modernization of the flue gas desulfurization wet scrubber; rehabilitation of the control and communication system; and rehabilitation of the control room. The project kick-off is planned for October 2011, with completion set for October 2012.

A-Tec Industries AG is an international industrial group with operations in drive systems, plant engineering, machine tools, and minerals and metals. The group currently employs about 12,000 people in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Great Britain, Serbia, Poland, the U.S., Australia, India and China.

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