NNE5-1999-20229 M O N - C H P: Optimised Biomass CHP Plant for Monaghan Integrating Condensing Economiser Technology

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Agricultural Residues : EESD (Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development) : Electricity : Thermochemical Conversion

Proposal No:	NNE5-1999-20229
Date Prepared:	February 2004
Source:	European Bio-Energy Projects (EUR 20808)

Introduction

The mushroom and poultry industries in Ireland are mainly concentrated in the border counties of Monaghan, Cavan, Armagh and Tyrone. Waste spent mushroom compost (SMC) and poultry litter (PL) materials are disposed of locally through various methods. Land spreading is currently the main disposal route for wastes arising from these industries, but there is insufficient associated acreage to safely absorb these materials. As a result, groundwater and surface water in the county is becoming contaminated with excess nutrients, particularly phosphorous.

Current and future legislation, including the EU Directive on Drinking Water Quality and the 1998 Phosphorous Regulations, will place limitations on current, unsustainable, agri-waste disposal practices within the region. Current waste management practices for SMC and PL are having a negative impact on the environment. Further expansion and current sustainability of the industries are in question due to restrictions imposed by the local authorities on land spreading and the move to reduce the amount of organic waste sent to landfill. The increase in land spreading of spent waste with associated high phosphorous concentrations has resulted in water quality deterioration in the area. Unless an alternative use for this material is found it will negatively impact on the sustained development of these industries.

If the mushroom industries, which have tight profit margins, are to continue to develop in an environmentally, sustainable and economic manner then an alternative disposal method must be found to deal with the current waste problems. Interest was therefore stimulated into the research and development of cleaner, more environmentally friendly, disposal options for these materials and the promotion of a sustainable indigenous energy supply that will reduce reliance on imported fuels.

The main aims of the project are, therefore, to provide solutions to the agri-environmental problems in County Monaghan, Ireland, whilst simultaneously generating renewable energy. If Ireland is to honour its agreement to limit its growth in emission of greenhouse gases to 13% by 2010, then we must increase our use of energy from renewable sources immediately. An investigation into various renewable energy resources in Ireland found biomass to be a largely unexploited resource with huge potential.

Activities

The project will make the first use of condensing economiser technology in a biomass CHP plant. CHP is considered an important element of the EU CO₂ reduction policies and the use of biomass in CHP is an important factor in the increased usage of this environmentally friendly option. The facility will be unique in its ability to exploit a previously unutilised energy source; spent mushroom compost. Under normal operating conditions, the plant will generate an average 22.5MW of electricity using biomass-based fuels. 20 MW of this will be exported to the national grid. The proposed biomass CHP power plant will generate electricity using a spreader stoker boiler or similar technology, like the Bubbling Fluidised Bed and a conventional steam turbine generator. The steam turbine generator will be designed for a gross generating capacity (including export power and on-site use) of 22.5MW. The thermal capacity of the biomass power plant at peak electrical capacity will be approximately 80MW. The biomass power plant will operate 24 hours per day, 8 200 hours per year and is expected to have an annual on-line availability of 92%.

A special purpose company, RENEWtech Limited, was set up to develop the project and the project developer is a wholly owned Irish company. South Western Co-operative Services Limited, in conjunction with four other partners from three EU Countries, received partial funding from the European Commission Research Department to build and operate the plant.

Progress

Numerous meetings and discussions have taken place between the parties. Public consultation meetings have been held with the local community, public bodies, Environmental Protection Agency and the planning authorities.

The total timeframe for the project has been determined at 40 months and includes all aspects of the development. From identification and quantification of potential fuel resources; assessing potential site suitability from economic, social and environmental perspectives; applying for planning permission and obtaining an Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) licence from the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); plant construction, commissioning and operation. A planning application, including a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment, has been submitted for the development of the project. Upon receipt of planning permission, detailed work on the project engineering will continue and it is anticipated that this will take place towards the end of 2003. The construction period for the project is 18 months and it is therefore anticipated that an operational demonstration plant will be available in 2005.

Impact and exploitation

The utilisation of renewable energy in Ireland is very low with just over 3% of our energy coming from renewables - predominantly from wind-power. There are currently no industrial CHP biomass developments in operation in Ireland but there is clearly a need to use renewable sources of energy if we are to sustain current rates of economic development.

The project involves the replacement of electricity from a traditional power plant fired with fossil fuels with electricity produced from a biomass fired CHP Plant. The plant will use a boiler that will be fired with SMC and PL, and will be equipped with a complete system for a third biomass fuel, such as wood chips. The boiler will be capable of maintaining 100% load on two out of the three fuels. Produced steam will be used in a steam turbine generator set for the production of electricity - the efficiency is increased by recovering energy from the hot and humidified drying air from the fuel dryers by means of a condensing economiser unit. This energy is used for the pre-heating of combustion air and boiler feed water.

Combustion of biomass is CO₂ neutral, and the plant will reduce the CO₂ production by 132 Kt. per annum. CHP is considered an important element of the EU CO₂ reduction policies and the use of biomass in CHP is an important factor in increasing the usage of this environmentally friendly option.

The diversion of poultry litter and spent mushroom compost away from landfill and land spreading and its use in the production of green electricity will result in a reduced dependence on fossil fuels and an avoidance of 188kt CO₂ per annum to the atmosphere. This is in line with the Irish Government policy for promoting alternative energy and meeting our Kyoto Agreements.

The development of this plant represents the first power plant in the world to burn a combination of poultry litter and spent mushroom compost. The development introduces a new, renewable energy, fuel source that was previously regarded as waste and also 'state of the art' technologies to convert this waste into an economical and environmentally friendly energy source.

The generation of renewable energy is being actively promoted in the EU and while there is no commercial plant currently in operation utilising SMC as a raw material, there are a number of similar developments in operation globally that use other biomass-based fuels, including PL. The project will contribute 134GWh per annum to the EU target of 18% total gross electricity generation of the EC produced by CHP by 2010. The production of low cost energy with positive environmental benefits is the core of the Monaghan Biomass Project. It will also contribute 43 ktoe to the EU target of 135 Mtoe from biomass by 2010 and will contribute 14MWth to the EU target of 10GWth of biomass installations by 2003.

In addition, demonstration of this project will strengthen the position of European SME's in the world market for biomass energy products and services and open the development of biomass CHP technology in Ireland.