INDUSTRY NEWS
Automation for new bio heating plant
A
large automation order has been received by Valmet from Lahti Energy for
the Kymijärvi III bio heating plant currently under construction in Lahti, Finland. Valmet’s advanced automation solutions will enable the company to promote sustainability by producing energy from certified biomass.
The order is included in Valmet’s second quarter 2018 orders received. The value of the order is approximately two million Euros and the system is scheduled to be commissioned in 2020.
Project Manager Mika Timonen said, “Lahti Energy is happy that Valmet’s offer was the most competitive in the public procurement. We are confident that Valmet is able to deliver a system that will fulfill our needs long into the future”.
Co-operation between Lahti Energy and Valmet started in the 1990s with an automation modernisation at the Kymijärvi I plant. In 2012, Lahti Energy started up its Kymijärvi II power plant, which features the world’s first solid recovered fuel (SRF) gasification process and is run with Valmet’s automation technology. The company also uses the Valmet DNA system to manage operations
at its heating plants in Lahti, as well as in the neighbouring communities of Heinola and Vääksy.
The new Kymijärvi III bio heating plant will replace the coal-fired Kymijärvi I plant that was started up in the 1970s, reducing Lahti Energy’s CO2 emissions by 600,000 tons per year. The district heat capacity of the plant will be approximately 190 megawatts.
EU grants for biofuel demo
A group of companies, including Global Bioenergies, which announced the start of the three- year project on 14 May, has been awarded grants totaling 13.9 million Euros by the European Commission to demonstrate technology that can convert ‘undervalued’ softwood residues into isobutene derivatives for use in gasoline and jetfuel production.
A new kind of biorefinery that can generate high-performance drop-in biofuel and biojetfuel is being developed to do this. Global Bioenergies will use its isobutene technology, together with techniques developed by Sekab and Neste, as part of the effort. Of the EU awards, 5.7 million Euros goes to Global Bioenergies, which is leading the group of
organisations working on the project. The other participants are Graanul Invest, Repsol, Peab Asfalt, SkyNRG, Ajinomoto Eurolysine, IPSB, TechnipFMC and Linz University.
The total budget for the project is 19.7 million Euros, with the 5.8 million Euros not covered by EU grants being contributed by the companies involved.
National biofuel policy for Australia
A bipartisan plan was unveiled on 28 March for supporting biofuels at a national level to address Australia’s increasingly pressing energy security concerns and to systemically promote the development, production and use of biofuels.
Bioenergy Australia, which promotes the use of bioenergy from a number of renewable sources, has thrown its weight behind Australia’s Deputy Prime
Minister Michael McCormack and the Shadow Minister for Climate Change & Energy Mark Butler as they present a national plan for the biofuel industry. According to Bioenergy Australia, the plan’s goals include improving energy security, creating opportunities in the agricultural sector and reducing emissions.
A study from Queensland University of Technology called
‘Biofuels to bioproducts: a growth industry for Australia’, was also presented. Bioenergy Australia says that the report shows 2,080 direct jobs and another 6,570 indirect jobs could be created if there is an increase in the use of E10, which is currently permitted in Australia, but not mandated. It also says that more than A$1.1 billion (over 681 million Euros) in additional income could result from a new biofuel policy.
SMALLTALK
New geopolitics On 18 April, during the second day of the annual Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, global leaders from across the spheres of energy, foreign policy, trade, development and business were announced as members of the newly formed Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation. The Commission was launched in January during the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency and its work is supported by the governments of Germany, Norway and the United Arab Emirates. The former President of Iceland, Olafur Grimsson, will lead the Commission as Chair and members include prominent government and business leaders from a number of countries active in the field of energy transition.
The full list of expert panel members can be found at: www.
geopoliticsofrenewables.org
WRA renews call on
wood for boilers The Wood Recyclers’ Association (WRA) has renewed its call to biomass boiler and fuel suppliers to ensure only clean, untreated, pre-consumer waste wood or virgin wood is burnt in non- Industrial Emissions Directive (IED Chapter IV) compliant boilers.
Andy Hill, Chair of the WRA, said the Association was still waiting for the regulators to remove inconsistencies in guidance on what grades of waste wood are acceptable.
Finnish Government
cuts stake in Neste It has been reported by Reuters that the Finnish Government has sold 5% of its shares in Neste, the oil refiner and biofuel company, for 861 million Euros, reducing its stake to 44.7%.
Opposition parties have apparently criticised the decision, saying that it gives up too much control in the company.
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