Tuesday 21 December 2010

UK’s biggest CHP plant built in Fife

RWE npower renewables, the UK subsidiary of RWE Innogy, has started to build a £199m biomass combined heat and power plant in Fife.

The new facility will be the biggest of its kind in the UK, have an installed output of 50 MW and be able to deliver up to 120 metric tonnes of industrial steam per hour.

It will replace an existing power station which fuels manufacturing at Tullis Russell, a paper making operation.

Building of the plant will take about two years and involve around 400 workers. The development has received the backing of Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and was awarded £8.1m through a Scottish Government's Regional Selective Assistance grant.

The plant will run on wood residues and green wood from sustainable forestry, allowing carbon reductions of around 250,000 metric tonnes per year.

RWE Innogy's two main contractors for the construction are Metso of Finland and Norwegian firm Aker Solutions. Metso will deliver and install the boiler system and the flue gas cleaning system, the remaining plant construction will be handled by Aker.

Ian Calvert, head of UK biomass at RWE npower renewables, said: "The combined heat and power plant is a significant investment by RWE npower renewables and is part of our ongoing commitment to invest in renewable energy projects in Scotland."

Chris Parr, chief executive of Tullis Russell, said: "This is an extremely positive development and helps to ensure a sustainable future for our business by enabling us to compete more effectively in what is a highly competitive market. It will also significantly reduce Tullis Russell's carbon footprint, making us a genuine low carbon paper producer in the markets we serve."