PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Biomass combustion based Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technologies have great potential to reduce CO2 emissions because they use renewable energy sources, such as wood fuels or sawdust. Typical fields of application for biomass CHP plants include: wood processing industries, sawmills, district heating systems and industries with a high process heat and cooling demand. In order for CHP plants to operate in a way that is economically and ecologically beneficial, both the electricity and the heat produced must be used.
CHP technology is already available on Swedish and European markets. Due to the high installation costs, and a lack of information about its efficiency, the technology is, however, currently not widely used in small-scale plants. Extensive research has been undertaken to illustrate the vast environmental potential of CHP technology but a larger initiative that looks at increasing market application is still needed.
OBJECTIVES
This LIFE+ small scale CHP project aimed demonstrate three different types of small-scale biomass CHP technology. The tests would take place in companies that use different technologies and at different scales. The aim was to pave the way for a broader application of biomass CHP technology. The knowledge gained would be disseminated on a regional, national and European level.
The main project objectives were to:
- Demonstrate the technology of three small-scale biomass based CHP plants that will be built in Sweden;
- Promote the use of, and a business model for, small -scale biomass based CHP technology at the regional, national and Europe level;
- Increase the production of renewable electricity by promoting local small-scale biomass based electricity production.
RESULTS
The LIFE+ small scale CHP project installed three combined heat and power plants: a gasifier in Hultsfred, an ORC plant in BräkneHoby, Ronneby, and a wet steam plant at Sörbyverket, Ronneby. One of the CHP units in BräkneHoby ran for three district heating seasons.
However, the wet steam plant and the gasifier experienced significant technical problems that required substantial financial investment to resolve. As a result, the WST ran for only one season, while the gasifier was operational for four years but at a reduced capacity of only 50%. Also, the project was not able to measure the performance at different loads as expected due to these technical issues.
While the CHP plants were all up and running for more than 4 000 hours as expect, all three pilot plants produced less electricity than foreseen (3 000 MWh per year). However, following the installation of the pilot plant in BräkneHoby, several ORC systems were installed around Sweden and in Norway, seven of which were operational throughout the district heating season 2019/2020. The beneficiary prepared very good performance, efficiency and security assessment report (including lessons learned) on each CHP unit and also produced a useful handbook, which is available on the project's website.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).
