Högsby Energi AB is a municipal heating company that sells and delivers district heating within the Högsby urban area. The heating plant consists of a 4 MW hot water boiler that burns residual products from the forest. To reduce the heating plant’s electricity and grid costs, Högsby Energi chose to invest in an ORC turbine and produce its own electricity.
Our solution:
Againity delivered an automated ORC system with a maximum capacity of 49.9 kW electricity production. The ORC system enables electricity production from the boiler’s hot water. In total, the system is expected to produce 250 MWh of electricity annually, corresponding to annual emission savings of 225 CO2 equivalents when substituting coal-based electricity. Högsby Energi has chosen to sign a service agreement with Againity to ensure a long service life and minimal maintenance.
Owner: Högsby Energi AB Location: Högsby, Sweden Existing heat plant: 4 MW hot water boiler Fuel: Wood chips Heat generation: 10.4 GWh/year Temperature boiler circuit: 130 °C Return temperature district heating: 40 °C Againity’s delivery: ORC AT50 Max capacity: 49.9 kW Expected electricity generation: 250 MWh/year
Two gas turbines operating with landfill gas where heat from their exhaust gases is connected to Againity’s ORC system. Installation for Ragn-Sells at Häradsudden landfill in Norrköping, Sweden.Againitys ORC system for 120 kW electricity installed in container together with landfill gas fueled hot water boiler and air convector fans (back-side).Againitys ORC system for 120 kW electricity installed in container together with landfill gas fueled hot water boiler and air convector fans (front-side).Delivery of ORC system and gas boiler in container.
Background:
Häradsudden waste treatment plant in Norrköping is owned by Ragn-Sells Avfallsbehandling AB. Häradsudden is one of Sweden’s largest waste facilities and receives most types of waste for handling, treatment and recycling. The landfill already had two gas turbines that produced electricity from parts of the extracted landfill gas. To increase the total electrical efficiency of the plant, Ragn-Sells chose to collaborate with Againity and invest in a container-based combined plant that includes a gas boiler and an ORC turbine. The ORC turbine is supplied with heat from both the hot water of the gas boiler and the waste heat from the two gas turbines.
Our solution:
Againity delivered a complete container with a gas boiler and an automated ORC system for electricity production with a maximum capacity of 120 kW electricity. The ORC system can partly use the heat energy from the existing gas turbines by converting the heat from the chimney into electricity. When there is enough available landfill gas, the gas boiler starts automatically and produces hot water for the ORC system, which then produces additional electricity. Ragn-Sells has chosen to sign a service agreement with Againity to ensure a long service life and minimal maintenance.
Owner: Ragn-Sells Avfallsbehandling AB Location: Norrköping, Sweden Heat source: Hot water from gas boiler + gas turbines Fuel: Landfill gas Againity’s delivery: Gas boiler + ORC AT100 Max capacity: 120 kW
The heating plant in Moheda is owned by Alvesta Energi AB, which strives for a secure and efficient energy supply to residents and companies in Alvesta municipality. The plant consists of a 6 MW hot water boiler that burns local biofuel consisting of wood chips. To generate its own small-scale and renewable electricity, Alvesta Energi chose to install an ORC turbine from Againity to their existing boiler.
Our solution:
Againity delivered an automated ORC system with a maximum capacity of 49.9 kW electricity production. The ORC system enables electricity production from the boiler’s hot water. In total, the system is expected to produce 170 MWh of electricity annually, corresponding to annual emissions savings of 153 CO2 equivalents when substituting coal-based electricity. Alvesta Energi has chosen to sign a service agreement with Againity to ensure a long service life and minimal maintenance.
Owner: Alvesta Energi AB Location: Moheda, Sweden Existing heat plant: 6 MW hot water boiler Fuel: Wood chips Heat generation: 13.2 GWh/year Temperature boiler circuit: 115 °C Return temperature district heating: 50 °C Againity’s delivery: ORC AT50 Max capacity: 49.9 kW Expected electricity generation: 170 MWh/year
”We want to equip ourselves to become more self-sufficient and solve our own need for electricity. We found Againity’s solution as very interesting and we have seen that operating data and availability is satisfying. We get a local, green and fossil-free electricity production.”
Thank you Vinko Culjak and Ystad Energi AB for letting us supply three ORC systems with total installed power of 750 kW. We are happy to work with a company that is truly at the forefront of fossil-free energy production!
There was great interest when Alvesta Energi AB arranged an open visit at the newly upgraded cogeneration plant in Moheda.
During the open
visit, participants from all over the country had the opportunity to ask
questions and learn more about Alvesta Energy’s new ORC turbine. The turbine
enables local electricity production using hot water from the existing boiler which
is fired with local wood chips, a residual product from the sawmill at the
neighboring property.
Mats Karlsson, CEO of Alvesta Energi, talks about the company’s vision of a better environment.
It was
during the fall of 2019 that the ORC turbine was installed and commissioned at
Moheda heating plant, which made Alvesta Energi first in the region of Småland with
a small-scale cogeneration plant. The investment will result in 170 MWh of
electricity generation per year in addition to the heat already produced for
the district heating network in Moheda.
We see the investment in the ORC turbine as a step going from heat production only to combined heat and power production, using local biomass in a cost-effective way in our heating plant in Moheda, says Mats Karlsson, CEO of Alvesta Energi AB. This allows us to contribute to small-scale, local and weather-independent electricity generation to our common electricity grid.
Today, more
than 400 heating plants in Sweden still lack electricity generation, but more
and more energy companies are choosing to follow in Alvesta Energy’s footsteps
and upgrade their heating plants to cogeneration plants – an investment with
both environmental and economic benefits.
We are happy that Alvesta Energi chooses to be at the forefront, showing that also smaller heating plants can contribute to renewable baseload power, says Elin Ledskog, sales manager at Againity. Together we can be part of this necessary transition to a more energy-efficient and climate-smart future.
Elin Ledskog, Head of Sales at Againity, describes how the new ORC turbine can produce electricity from the hot water boiler at the heating plant.
Contact Information:
Elin
Ledskog, Head of Sales, Againity AB: 0705-29 32 23, elin.ledskog@againity.com,
www.againity.se
Mats
Karlsson, CEO of Alvesta Energi AB: 0472-15 199,
mats.karlsson@alvestaenergi.se, www.alvestaenergi.se
Bengt Andersson, operating engineer at Alvesta Energi, David Frykerås, CEO of Againity, and Håkan Nilsson, district heating manager at Alvesta Energi, in front of the new ORC turbine system that produces green electricity from wood chips. Many visitors were curious about the new turbine during the open visit at Moheda’s heating plant.
After
last year’s turbine installation at the heating plant in Hörby, Sweden, Solör
Bioenergi now chooses to provide two more of their heating plants with ORC turbines
for local electricity production from biomass. This time at the slightly larger
heating plants in Svenljunga and Vilhelmina.
Nicklas Eld, Regional Manager Solör Bioenergi Väst, looks forward to more green electricity production at Solör Bioenergi’s facilities.
It is fantastic that our plant in Svenljunga can produce renewable electricity, which can then be consumed locally, says Nicklas Eld, regional manager at Solör Bioenergi Väst. This is just the beginning. In the future we will see ORC turbines on several more of our heating plants.
Solör
Bioenergi are present in over 137 locations, primarily in Sweden and Norway,
and is a leading company within renewable energy from biomass. Together with
the Swedish company Againity, Solör Bioenergi decided in the spring of 2018 to
upgrade Hörby’s heating plant to a cogeneration plant to both reduce their
energy costs and contribute to more renewable and weather-independent
electricity production in a region suffering from a growing lack of local and
reliable baseload power. After a year of electricity production in Hörby, Solör
Bioenergi now chooses to continue installing ORC turbines. A steam boiler in
Svenljunga and a hot water boiler in Vilhelmina are the coming year being
provided with ORC turbines with an installed power of 315 kW and 250 kW
respectively.
After these
installations, Solör Bioenergi will be contributing with about 2.6 GWh of green
baseload power every year from their three small-scale power plants. This
corresponds to a reduction of 2360 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year,
by replacing fossil electricity from coal in the European electricity grid,
equaling the emissions from a petrol-fueled passenger car driving 1500 laps
around the globe.
The hot
water boiler in Vilhelmina will be the first in the region of Norrland, Sweden,
with a small-scale cogeneration plant, but probably not the last. Today, there
are still 400 heat plants in Sweden that lack electricity generation, since
previously available technology has not been cost-effective enough other than
for the largest heating plants.
The heating plant in Svenljunga will be upgraded to a cogeneration plant in spring of 2020.
It feels good that the technology is being developed so that small-scale electricity generation can be applied in district heating production here in Vilhelmina, says Tore Sundqvist, Regional Manager Solör Bioenergi Nord. This means that we become more self-sufficient and our production becomes even more climate neutral, while at the same time reducing the electricity and power requirements in our local electricity networks.
With the
new ORC technology from Againity, more and more Swedish cities and companies
are choosing to supplement their hot water and steam boilers to reduce
electricity costs and at the same take steps towards set energy and climate
goals.
During the coming winter, the Againity will deliver
its first ORC turbine to Norway. It is the Norwegian energy company Eidsiva
Bioenergi that has chosen to upgrade their heating plant in Elverum to a
combined heat and power plant and thereby contribute to a more climate-smart
and environmentally sustainable energy system.
We are honored to welcome Eidsiva as a new partner in our journey towards a more renewable and weather-independent electricity system, says Elin Ledskog, Head of Sales at Againity AB. With a first reference plant in Norway we hope to inspire more Norwegian heating companies to follow in Eidsiva’s footsteps and upgrade their heating plants to cogeneration plants.
The 0.5 MW ORC turbine converts part of the hot water
from the existing boiler into electricity. The existing 10 MW hot water boiler
was delivered by Jernforsen in 2016 and is fueled by recycled wood. By using
parts of the renewable fuel for electricity, Eidsiva will contribute to
reducing carbon dioxide emissions corresponding to over 1800 ton per year by
replacing fossil electricity in the European electricity grid.
With today’s rising electricity and net tariffs, it is
becoming increasingly profitable for small and medium-sized heating plants to
combine their heat production with electricity generation. In Sweden, the 15th
ORC turbine is now under construction and interest is growing in Norway and
other parts of the Nordic and Baltic countries. With the economic and
environmental benefits, the ORC turbines make an important contribution to a
more renewable and weather-independent electricity system.
Elverum Fjernvarmesentral
About the ORC technology
The turbine system is based on the Organic Rankine
Cycle technology, which makes it possible to utilize low-temperature heat to
generate electricity. One of the main advantages of cogeneration at biomass
heating plants is that, in contrast to other renewable energy sources, it is
weather-independent and generates the most electricity during winter when the
demand and spot price is high. The local production of electricity also reduces
transmission losses and local capacity shortages in the electricity grids.
When generating electricity using diesel generators and gas turbines, up to 70% of energy is converted into waste heat, escaping through the exhaust gases or cooling system. By instead connecting the waste heat to Againity’s ORC system, the heat energy is converted into valuable electricity.
Also solar panels or geothermal heat can be used as heat sources for the ORC system. By using these energy sources to heat up water in tanks, the energy is easily stored for later usage. Whenever the need for electricity arises, the hot water is connected to the ORC system and turned into electric power.
Two gas turbines operating with landfill gas where heat from their exhaust gases is connected to Againity’s ORC system. Installation for Ragn-Sells at Häradsudden landfill in Norrköping, Sweden.Againitys ORC system installed in container together with landfill gas fueled hot water boiler and air convector fans (back-side).Againitys ORC system installed in container together with landfill gas fueled hot water boiler and air convector fans (front-side).
Many industrial processes generates excess heat that in many cases is wasted through the chimney. Manufacturing of cement, brick, glass, chemicals, tea, beer and soft drinks are examples of processes that result in large amounts of waste heat containing plenty of energy.
With Againitys ORC system, the heat is converted into electrical energy while you lower your electricity bill, bringing benefits to your wallet as well as the environment.
Produce your own green electricity! By incinerating wood chips, municipal waste, biogas or other types of biomass in a boiler and connect it to Againity’s ORC system you can become your own electricity producer. The hot water from the ORC system can be used for district heating/cooling networks or for local heat demands in industries, hospitals or hotels. See ”References” for examples of Againity’s completed ORC installations.
Biomass
If you have an exisiting heating plant with a hot water or steam boiler we can upgrade your plant to a combined heat and power plant. With your own electricity production you reduce your energy bills and contribute to a greener and more weather-independent energy system.
We also offer biogas boilers together with ORC turbines for installation at landfills or waste water treatment plants.
