Swedish municipal energy provider Gislaved Energi AB has announced that it will invest in a 200 kW Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbine from compatriot Againity AB and thus transform its biomass-fired heating plant into a combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The investment means that Gislaved Energi will produce approximately 770 MWh of electricity annually and thereby reduce its internal electricity costs significantly.
Gislaved Energi is already a fossil-free municipal energy provider thanks to its biomass-fired district heat plant as well as its solar, wind, and hydropower installations. The new investment, the value of which has not been disclosed, will enable an additional 200 kW of weather-independent electricity production capacity to reduce costs for self-consumption.
Of course, it feels very inspiring that we are now taking another climate step forward as we create the opportunity to produce sustainable electricity at our district heating plant in Mossarp, said Hans Brunström, CEO of Gislaved Energi AB.
The Mossarp district heat plant currently consists of two woodchip-fired boilers (5 MW and 7 MW) with flue gas condensers (1.2 MW and 2 MW) and an HVO-fired oil boiler (5 MW) as backup and reserve. The woodchip boilers and flue gas condensers were installed in 2013 and 2018 respectively and the backup boiler in 2018.
In addition, 47.8 kW solar PV was installed on the boiler house roof of the 5 MW boiler in 2016 to power the pumps.
Reduce emissions, increase local power supply
The new 200 kW ORC turbine will be connected to the heating plant’s recently installed 7 MW woodchip-fired boiler from Jernforsen, where the installation consists of two pipes for the boiler circuit and two pipes for the district heating return.
Gislaved Energi’s expected electricity production of approximately 770 MWh annually corresponds to an emission reduction of 690 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) per annum when replacing European marginal electricity.
In addition to the positive environmental aspects, the heating plant’s internal electricity costs will be reduced as electricity production will cover a large part of the plant’s internal consumption.
We are very pleased to be entrusted with the task of supplementing Gislaved’s heating plant with its own electricity production. Now that we are seeing an increasingly heavy load on the electricity grid, cogeneration has an important role to play for the local electricity supply – not least during the winter months when both electricity consumption and cogeneration are at their greatest, said Elin Ledskog, Head of Sales at Againity AB.
The Norrköpings based company Againity has developed and manufactured modular ORC systems since 2013 and has a patent for the turbine’s unique design. The technology works like an ordinary steam turbine, with the difference that an organic refrigerant is used instead of water. This means that even low-value heat from 90 degrees C and up can be used for electricity production.
Contact persons:
Rikard Bondéus, Team Manager Heat at Gislaved Energi AB, +46 (0) 371-58 91 18, rikard.bondeus@gislavedenergi.se
Elin Ledskog, Head of Sales at Againity AB, 0705-29 32 23, elin.ledskog@againity.com
Read the article in Bioenergy International here>>