INDUSTRY NEWS


INDUSTRY NEWS


Turbine upgrade for Finnish power plant


New pellet facilities at Port of Tyne


Despite the dramatic reduction in coal imports to the UK in 2015, the Port of Tyne announced that turnover was £59 million and profit before tax was £6 million last year. The port also invested £21 million – a record amount – in infrastructure.


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n order has been received by Valmet from Kotkan Energia Oy to modernise


the turbine automation and supply a new turbine controller to the Hovinsaari biomass-fired power plant in Kotka, Finland. The upgrade will take effect in September, 2016, to improve turbine reliability and availability. The Hovinsaari power plant consists of a biomass-fired unit, a natural gas-fired combined cycle unit and an auxiliary boiler. The power plant produces most of the district heat used in Kotka, process steam for the Danisco Sweeteners factory and electricity for the national grid. The biomass-fired unit has a capacity of 37 megawatts (MW) of district heat, 15-20 MW of process steam and 15 MW of electricity. It is fueled by industrial by-products, forest residues, recycled fuels and peat according to need. “Valmet was able to offer us a modern turbine


controller complemented by a condition monitoring solution as a turnkey delivery. Both of them can be integrated within our existing Valmet DNA automation system,” said Antti Roponen, Control and Instrumentation Specialist at Kotkan Energia.


In future, the plant’s turbine will be controlled through the main automation system instead of separate automation systems and link applications, which improves process transparency. According to Tom Bäckman, Turbine Control Product Manager at Valmet: “The new automation will make the operators’ work simpler and easier because it includes features such as start- up sequences. Automation maintenance will also be easier since the same engineering tools will be used in the automation system and the turbine controller. If necessary, the operators and maintenance staff have fast access to Valmet’s expert support via a remote connection”.


At an event for stakeholders, Andrew Moffat, CEO of the Port of Tyne, announced the start of building new facilities to handle, store and transport wood pellets for Lynemouth Power Ltd (LPL), which is making good progress with its plan to convert the power station in South-East Northumberland from coal to biomass. The Port of Tyne has secured the agreement to handle,


store and transport up to 1.8 million tonnes of wood pellets every year once conversion is complete.


Construction has begun on the Port’s estate at Tyne Dock in South Shields to build a 75,000 tonne storage facility, three enclosed conveyors and transfer towers, three silos, a rail loading silo and other works. The Port of Tyne is contributing £13 million to this huge project with the majority of the investment being made by LPL.


The project will provide new jobs and indirectly support local employment, both in construction and in operation, for many years to come.


Wood pellet hopper at Port of Tyne. Job satisfaction in green industry


Research has shown that environment and sustainability professionals have high levels of work satisfaction because they find their jobs personally, professionally and financially rewarding. Statistics released by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) show that 82% of its members are satisfied with their career – the highest figure ever


2 Summer 2016 2


recorded for this group. With the UK’s Office for National Statistics reporting that 77.6% of the country’s employ- ees consider themselves satisfied at work, those with environment and sustainability responsibilities now exceed the national average for professional happiness. The current profile of the environment and sustainability profession as published in IEMA’s


annual survey explains why so many are happy at work – salaries are on the rise and are markedly ahead of the average national income, workers are highly qualified and keep their knowledge up-to-date, employer support for personal development is high and the nature of the work is rewarding.


Tim Balcon, CEO of IEMA, said the results paint a healthy picture


of a fast-evolving, dynamic pro- fession: “This is a group of people who really bring their best to their work and the ability to make a difference is proving to be as satisfying as it is rewarding. “The number of our members who feel very happy with their ca- reers is up 11% in just one year, which I think is proof that this is a profession that is heading in the right direction and fast.”


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