Denmark’s BWSC to deliver CHP plant to UK
Power plant specialist Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC) will be delivering a high-efficiency biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Cramlington, UK.
The construction of the 27.8MW plant is backed by solid UK green energy investors and is in line with the UK target of efficient and renewable energy.
The Cramlington project will be yet another plant to add to the UK’s portfolio of green and energy efficient biomass power plants.
Developer behind the £137 million (€188.4 million) project is the renewable energy company Estover Energy, and the equity investors are UK Green Investment Bank and John Laing Group.
Barclays will provide the remainder of the funding as debt, 60% of which will be guaranteed by the Danish export credit agency Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF).
Currently, BWSC has five other biomass plants under construction in the UK, but the Cramlington project stands out in terms of the applied technology.
The CHP plant is based on reheat technology, which used in large power plants but is relatively new to power plants of this size.
The technology work by leading steam through two heating processes and two turbines instead of the usual one for an increased utilisation of energy.
This method improves fuel efficiency and provides a higher plant output which is both an economic and environmental advantage.
The Cramlington CPH plant will be the first reheat biomass plant in the UK and is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 56,000 tonnes annually compared to a gas-fired power plant.
The turnkey power plant is expected to be up and running by the end of 2017, and the finished facility will generate 223GWh of renewable electricity annually – enough to power 52,000 homes.
It will supply power and heating to two pharmaceutical companies on a direct wire and pipeline and export the remaining power to the national grid.
Around 240 jobs are associated with the construction stage, and operation of the plant will generate up to 25 permanent positions.
Anders Heine Jensen, CEO of BWSC, says the company is pleased that its energy solutions can contribute positively to both the local community in Cramlington and the general UK target of increased renewable energy.
