U.K. Straw-Fired Plant Awards Turbine Contract

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Alstom S.A. (OTC:ALSMY) (Paris, France) has secured a contract to design and supply a 45-megawatt (MW) geared reaction steam turbine (GRT) for one of the U.K.'s few straw-fired biomass projects.

The turbine will be used at the Brigg power project in Lincolnshire, which is expected to be commissioned in 2016. When operational, it will be capable of generating enough electricity for approximately 70,000 homes and reduce the equivalent of 300,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year. The contract was awarded by the joint owners, Danish pension group PensionDanmark and Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor A/S (BWSC), who snapped up the project last year from British renewable energy company Eco2 Limited (Manchester, England), in a deal worth €187 million ($250 million). For additional information, see August 23, 2013, article - Danes buy Straw-fired Power Plant in U.K..

Alstom claimed that the GRT saves money during installation and commissioning by being pre-assembled before shipment and requiring only a simple foundation to which the steam turbine generator package is anchored.

This is the second GRT contract signed between Alstom and BWSC. In October last year, Alstom secured a deal to supply an 18-MW GRT for Ireland's first wood-fuelled biomass power station, which will be constructed on a 10-acre site in Lisahally, Northern Ireland. The €96 million ($131 million) project will see the owner, ERE Developments, divert more than two million tons of wood from landfills, which will allow the plant to supply enough electricity for around 25,000 homes. When it goes live next year it will be the largest renewable energy project in Northern Ireland, increasing the amount of renewable electricity currently generated there by approximately 10%. For additional information, see October 22, 2013, article - Deal Struck at Ireland's Largest Biomass Plant.

Daniel Wahler, vice president of Industrial Steam Turbines for Alstom, commented: "We're delighted to be working with BWSC again on a second U.K. project that highlights the cutting edge design of our GRT technology. The biomass market requires a more efficient steam turbine that can offer more power to the network, and Alstom's GRT is designed to achieve this making it particularly effective in a growing market".

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