Section B Ι New Build Invesments

Thursday, 22 September 2016, 11:00-11:30h/B04

Large scale and high efficient biomass power plants with fluidised bed combustion in Europe

Teemu Nevalainen, Amec Foster Wheeler Energia Oy, Finland

Major incentives on renewable power and decreasing consumption have nearly stalled thermal power investments in Europe. While fossil fuels are facing strong political pressures there seems to be market for CO₂ neutral thermal power as well as CHP production. Today's market situation calls for fuel flexible technologies, while maximum efficiency and economics of scale drive towards utility size solutions. Fulfilling the above-mentioned boundary conditions, a contract awarded for biomass power project in U.K. is taking the Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) combustion technology to the 300-MWe scale with sole biomass fuels.

The world’s largest greenfield biomass power plant will be built within the Teesport Estate near Middlesbrough. MGT Teesside Ltd. will own and manage the Tees Renewable Energy Plant (Tees REP). The 299 MWe CHP Power plant will be provided by one Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler supplied by Amec Foster Wheeler. The power plant will utilize wood pellets and wood chips that will be sourced from certified sustainable forests in North America.

High-efficiency biomass power plant needs to utilize advanced steam parameters and in Tees REP they are 176 / 43.8 bar(a), 568 / 568 °C. With sufficiently clean fuel such a high steam pressure is considered feasible with normally applied waterwall materials. Correspondingly, acceptable superheater and reheater lifetimes can be achieved with clean biomass.

When this CFB boiler enters commercial operation in January 2020, it will be the world’s largest and most advanced 100% biomass fired CFB.