World's Largest Biomass Plant in Wales Given Go-Ahead

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The world's largest biomass power plant project will go ahead in Port Talbot, Wales, after being granted government approval. The 350-megawatt (MW) plant will be fed with wood chip fuel, and with the benefits of economies of scale in a larger plant, energy efficiencies of 36% will be achieved compared with an efficiency of 22% for a 40-MW plant. The increased efficiency of a larger scale means that carbon emissions per MW of electrical power generated are greatly reduced.

The $800 million power plant has been designed to have an operational life of 25 years and is intended to operate as a base load (24 hours per day, 365 days per annum) power generator. This ability to provide base load supply gives the biomass plant advantages over other renewable technologies that cannot offer continuous operation. Power will be exported from the plant by way of a newly built underground line.

Exhaust steam from a single 350-MW steam turbine will go through a dry air cooled condenser and will require no water for cooling purposes. The flue gases will move through a fabric filter to remove 99.99% of the entrained dust. Sulfur and chlorine control will not be necessary, as the wood fuel does not contain significant quantities of either chemical. The wood feed will have minimal ash content, producing less than 150,000 tons of ash per year.

Prenergy (London), whose management company will operate the project, reported that the use of wood chip as a fuel for power generation is recognized as being carbon free, as the CO2 released in the combustion process is equal to that absorbed during the growth of the tree. Replanting to replace the harvested tress ensures sustainability. The project will provide about 70% of the Welsh 2010 renewable energy target and 35% of the installed capacity target.

The project will use relatively traditional boiler construction technology, similar to that used in coal-fired power stations. This will enable local mainstream engineering firms to undertake a sizable part of the work. Likewise, maintenance work of up to $20 million per annum will go to local piping, motor, cabling, welding and fitting companies. Port Talbot is an industrial coastal town with a Corus steel plant next to the power station site. The project is scheduled for completion in 2010.

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