Industry News
Wärtsilä combined heat and power plant helping Germany reach its green energy goals
T
he recently completed combined heat and power (CHP) plant supplied by technology group Wärtsilä
to Kraftwerke Mainz-Wiesbaden (KMW) in Germany has been officially handed over for commencement of commercial operations. The handover took place on 23 December, allowing municipal energy provider KMW to reliably provide 100mW of electrical power. The CHP plant feeds the excess heat generated during power generation into the Mainz district heating network. From this, Mainz customers are supplied with sufficient heat to supply around 40,000 modern single-family homes. The state-of-the-art plant operates
with ten gas-fuelled Wärtsilä 34SG engines. The operational flexibility of the plant enables KMW to start and stop the engines within 2.5 minutes. This provides essential grid balancing support as the power system incorporates ever-increasing renewable sources, namely wind and solar. It also allows KMW to operate in the short-term balancing markets, since power output can be quickly
“With this plant, we are proud to be supporting Germany’s ambitious transition to a green energy future with extensive use of renewables. Flexible engines are an ideal partner for renewables, and they help future- proof our customer’s investment allowing them to participate in the volatile electricity markets,” added Pekka Tolonen, energy business director, Europe, Wärtsilä. Wärtsilä supplied and built
Aerial image of Kraftwerke Mainz-Wiesbaden AG power plant in Mainz, Germany, delivered by Wärtsilä (©Wärtsilä Corporation).
adjusted to respond to fluctuations in the power demand, as dictated by the electricity price. As part of its climate action
plan, the German government has committed to increasing the share of electricity produced by CHP plants to 25% of the total electricity production by, 2025. Germany, like the European Union, aims to become greenhouse gas neutral by 2050. It has set the preliminary target of cutting emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to
1990 levels. “This commencement of
commercial operations for the Wärtsilä CHP plant provides us with a modern, agile, low-carbon system capable of utilising green energy assets to the full. Fast acting power generation is essential in today’s energy markets and this plant meets all our requirements in this respect,” commented Jörg Höhler, CTO/ member-mgmt board, Kraftwerke Mainz-Wiesbaden AG.
UPM advances plans for next-generation biorefinery
UPM moves forward with biofuels growth plans and starts the basic engineering phase of a next-generation biorefinery. The potential biorefinery would have an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes of high-quality renewable fuels including sustainable jet fuel. The products would significantly reduce carbon footprint in road transport and aviation, as well as replace fossil raw materials with renewable alternatives in chemicals and bioplastics. “The planned biorefinery would
scale up UPM’s successful biofuels business to a new level. At the same time, it would further improve
long-term competitiveness and sustainability performance of UPM Biofuels by introducing several sustainable feedstocks and achieving uniquely high CO2 emission reduction compared to biofuels currently in the market,” says Jyrki Ovaska, chief technology officer of UPM. UPM’s solid wood biomass-based
residues and side streams would play a substantial role in the feedstock pool. In addition, it would consist of sustainable liquid waste and residue raw materials. “UPM has exceptional expertise acquired over decades in biomass sourcing both in Finland and Central Europe thanks to our large-scale operations in the
pulp, paper, timber and plywood businesses. We are also developing and testing innovative carbon farming concepts.” UPM will now proceed with a
detailed commercial and basic engineering study to define the business case, select the most innovative technology option and estimate the investment need. The technology concept includes the use of green hydrogen in the production process. During the study UPM will also review the operating environment primarily in two locations: Kotka, Finland and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The estimated duration of this
basic engineering phase is minimum 12 months. If all preparations are concluded successfully, UPM would initiate the company’s standard procedure of analysing and preparing an investment decision. “The UPM Lappeenranta
Biorefinery, with annual capacity of 130,000 tonnes, has been a great example of creating a successful new business beyond fossils. Years of investment in R&D and innovation have paid off. This gives us confidence to plan the scaling up of this exciting business,” says Ovaska. More information: Jyrki Ovaska, Chief Technology Officer, UPM t: +358 204 150 564
Spring 2021 Forest Bioenergy Review 3
the plant on a full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. The scope also includes a comprehensive 15 year maintenance agreement that guarantees the plant’s availability and reliability. The services provided include on-site support and remote online monitoring conducted via Wärtsilä’s asset diagnostics and expert analyses. This ensures sufficient capacity at all times, especially during periods of high demand in winter. More information: Mirja-Maija Santala: Manager, Marketing & Communications, Wärtsilä Energy m: +358 400 793 827 e:
mirja-maija.santala@
wartsila.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24
