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Drax To Withdraw, But Project Continues
Drax announced that while it remains committed to fulfilling its current work on a Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) feasibility and technology development project, it would not be investing further and will withdraw as a partner of Capture Power Ltd, the developer of the White Rose CCS project at the Drax site in Selby, North Yorkshire, UK.
The Capture Power partnership—made up of Drax, Alstom and BOC—has been looking at the potential to capture up to 90% of carbon emissions from a proposed coal-fired power station and safely store them beneath the North Sea. The plan is to build a state-of-the-art coal-fired power plant that is equipped with full carbon capture and storage technology. The plant will have the potential to co-fire biomass. The project is intended to prove CCS technology at commercial scale and demonstrate it as a competitive form of low-carbon power generation and as an important technology in tackling climate change.
The standalone power plant will be located at the existing Drax Power Station site near Selby, North Yorkshire, generating electricity for export to the Electricity Transmission Network as well as capturing approximately 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year, some 90% of all CO2 emissions produced by the plant. The CO2 will be transported through National Grid’s proposed pipeline for permanent undersea storage in the North Sea. The power plant technology, known as oxy-fuel combustion, burns fuel in a modified combustion environment with the resulting combustion gases being high in CO2 concentration. This allows the CO2 produced to be captured without the need for additional chemical separation, before being piped for storage.
Alstom will have responsibility for construction of the power plant together with the CO2 processing unit and BOC is responsible for the construction of the air separation unit that supplies oxygen for combustion. Drax was to have responsibility for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the plant and the CO2 processing facility.
National Grid will construct and operate the CO2 transport pipelines and, with partners, the permanent CO2 undersea storage facilities at a North Sea site.
Drax said that while it would cease to commit further investment, it will continue to make the site owned by Drax, along with the infrastructure at the power plant, available for the project to be built.
Drax Group Operations Director, and Capture Power Board Director Pete Emery states,“We remain fully committed to completing what we’ve signed up to—the completion of a study into the feasibility and development of world leading technology that could result in dramatic reductions in carbon emissions produced by power stations and heavy industry. We are confident the technology we have developed has real potential, but have reluctantly taken a decision not to invest any further in the development of this project. The decision is based purely on a drastically different financial and regulatory environment and we must put the interests of the business and our shareholders first. We will focus our resources on the areas which we can deliver best value, particularly working with government to explore the potential for converting a fourth generating unit to run on sustainable biomass.”
Capture Power has confirmed its continuing commitment to the delivery of the White Rose Project, following the news that Drax plans to pull out after its front end commitment. Leigh Hackett, CEO of Capture Power, comments, “Drax’s decision not to invest further in the project is disappointing, but we are keen to confirm that Capture Power remains committed to delivering the White Rose CCS Project. We can also confirm that we continue to work constructively with Drax on land, site services and shared infrastructure aspects to support the project’s delivery.
“We are now well over halfway through the study and we are progressing towards receiving development consent. The final investment decision for White Rose will be dependent on successful outcomes of the FEED study, funding arrangements and the proposed Contract for Difference market mechanism designed specifically to encourage investment in new, low carbon generation. The team at Capture Power is working hard to put the UK on the CCS map through delivering this groundbreaking project.”
ReEnergy Connects To Fort Drum
The ReEnergy Black River biomass power facility is delivering behind-the-meter electricity to Fort Drum, enhancing the post’s energy security by allowing it to be independent from the electrical grid.
The interconnection, a $15 million project that connected the power plant to Fort Drum’s two substations, was required under the terms of ReEnergy Black River’s 20-year renewable energy supply agreement to supply electricity to the post. The interconnection was energized on October 10.
“This is not only a significant milestone for our company, but also for Fort Drum and the U.S. Army,” says ReEnergy CEO Larry Richardson. “We are proud to be supporting the critically important mission of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division. We also are pleased that this complex project, which required approximately 35,000 worker-hours on site, was completed safely, on time, and within budget.”
The ReEnergy Black River facility, located inside the fence at Fort Drum, has 60 MW of generation capacity. Before it was idled in early 2010 by its former owner, the facility burned coal to produce electricity. ReEnergy acquired the facility in December 2011 and invested more than $34 million to convert the facility to use biomass as its primary fuel. The converted facility commenced operations in May 2013. It employs 30 and purchases biomass from local suppliers. The facility provides all of Fort Drum’s electricity needs, which currently peaks at about 28 MW.
The facility began supplying 100% of Fort Drum’s electrical load on November 1, 2014. Under the terms of the agreement, ReEnergy was required to build the electric transmission system to directly connect the ReEnergy Black River facility to Fort Drum’s two substations.
Prior to the completion of the system, ReEnergy arranged for bilateral deliveries to Fort Drum’s substations through an energy service company. The facility will continue to sell its excess output to the grid, and the post will keep its ties to National Grid as a backup in case of an outage at the power facility.
“This was a project that required the close collaboration of many parties,” says Richardson. He congratulated the ReEnergy team, particularly project director Ainsworth James, and also thanked the primary participants in the project: National Grid; Fort Drum Dept. of Public Works; U.S. Army Office of Energy Initiatives (OEI); Defense Logistics Agency; New York Independent System Operator (NYISO); Eaton Corp.; Northline Utilities; D&D Power; WEG Electric Corp.; Three C Electrical; and Aubertine and Currier, LLC.
ReEnergy owns three biomass-to-electricity facilities in New York: ReEnergy Black River at Fort Drum; ReEnergy Lyonsdale in Lewis County; and ReEnergy Chateaugay in Franklin County. Those three facilities have the installed capacity of 103 MW.
Biomass Plant Planned For Perry, Florida
Applied Gaia Corp. of Houston plans to build a $60 million wood biomass power plant that will use a pyrolysis process to create energy and biochar byproduct in Perry, Fla.
A company spokesman said they chose the area because of its area supply of wood chips and has agreements with several suppliers. The facility may also burn chicken manure.
The facility will operate as Perry Natural Technologies and could create and impact 300 jobs.
Pyrolysis is a high-temperature decomposition process for burning biomass in the absence of oxygen. The company expects to break ground in February 2016 and complete construction in eight months.
Biomass Big Factor In GEPAZ Progress
In its October update, Good Earth Power reports that in the two years since GEPAZ took over the 4FRI (Four Forest Restoration Initiative) contract in Arizona, it now employs 150, owns and operates two lumber mills, has two pole peeling facilities, operates an in-house trucking fleet, has developed forest infrastructure capable of operating simultaneously on six individual Forest Service task orders, and is hauling 300 loads per week which will increase to 750 plus loads per week upon the arrival of new equipment.
The company reports it has customer orders for more than 100 loads of biomass per day; can internally consume 35 loads of logs per day under normal operation and 60 loads with an additional shift at each location.
“Many millions of dollars have been invested by GEPAZ in infrastructure, job creation and industry building,” the company states. “We have believed in the viability of this project from the start and we remain committed to its realization. No one wants to see 4FRI succeed more than we do.”
4FRI is the Forest Service project to restore/thin 300,000 acres in 10 years on the Coconino, Kaibab, Apache-Sitgreaves and Tonto national forests, following years of devastating wildfires. Good Earth Power AZ, now based in Flagstaff, was created to take over the 4FRI contracts as part of its acquisition of the assets of Pioneer Forest Products, which had been awarded the contract in 2012 but failed to find financing for it.
As of October, nearly 5,000 acres had been restored, and GEPAZ was working with 19 Forest Service Task Orders in various stages of activity or inactivity. Addressing some questions that restoration is proceeding slowly, GEPAZ points to biomass as a key difference between a 4FRI restoration task order and a routine timber sale. Biomass must be processed and removed from every task order and biomass is “what makes 4FRI a model and a test case for landscape scale restoration. This is what we are working to prove: That it is possible to create a sustainable economic model for forest restoration—not forest thinning or logging.”
GEPAZ emphasizes it is working without government subsidies and in a region where the wood products industry was basically dormant.
“We are committed to refining the process, meeting the 10-year contract goal and creating a model for all forest communities to follow,” the company states.
A recent development is that Campbell Global, which initially contracted with GEPAZ for forest restoration services, and which left the project in June, has sued GEPAZ for breach of contract and failure to pay nearly $3 million for services. GEPAZ has since counter-sued Campbell Global for $1 million for failure to perform services.
More Biomass Power Plants In The Works
Georgia Renewable Power, LLC (an affiliate of GreenFuels Energy) is reportedly building a $100 million 58 MW wood biomass power plant in Colbert, Ga. at the site of a former Weyerhaeuser engineered wood products facility. The new operation, which will be called GRP—Madison Renewable Energy Facility, is expected to be operational in May 2017.
Georgia Renewable Power is also reportedly building a 79 MW wood biomass power plant at Carnesville, Ga.
Composite Panel Assn. Pinpoints Positions
Jackson Morrill, president of Composite Panel Assn., updated the executive committee’s recommendations on “policy positions” with regard to energy/biomass issues that impact wood fiber supply during the September Fall Meeting in Banff, Alberta.
CPA opposes government policies that distort the market for woody biomass raw material, Morrill noted, adding that market forces should determine all uses of wood and wood residuals for renewable energy; policies that have the direct effect of diverting biomass supply to subsidized energy should be avoided; and governments that choose to initiate policies intended to increase demand for biomass energy production should couple them with policies that increase the available long-term supply of wood to meet future demand of composite wood panels as well as new and growing markets for energy and other uses.
Morrill said CPA will stay silent on the carbon neutrality of wood-to-energy, noting however that forest derived biomass should be treated as carbon neutral where there is a sustainable growing forest; within carbon accounting frameworks, the composite panel industry’s use of wood residuals to make long-lived products should be treated as a higher value use than energy recovery; the composite panel industry’s use of wood residuals is an important alternate use that should be considered when determining the scope of “qualified biomass” under the U.S. EPA Clean Power Plan.
Morrill said CPA will advocate that composite wood products be recognized for their carbon sequestration benefits; that public policies should recognize that sustainably managed forests and forest products sequester and store carbon and reduce CO2; the use of biomass in creating long-lived products that serve as carbon sinks should be formally recognized in any carbon calculations that might be referenced in a future carbon economy.
Wood Suppliers Case Stems From BCAP
A Monroe County, Alabama circuit court jury and judge awarded seven timber dealer-logging companies a combined $8.1 million in late August in a civil lawsuit they brought against Alabama River Group Inc. and its former principal, George Landegger, for default on payments due from contracts in 2010.
This was one of the largest settlements in Monroe County history. The defendants of the case have indicated they are appealing the decision.
The attorneys for the timber dealers presented a case that Alabama River Group (Alabama Pine Pulp and Alabama River Pulp) misrepresented itself to the government in order to receive matching money from the then newly implemented Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), but in the end left the dealers in a financial bind.
The dealers alleged they entered into purchase contracts with various landowners for fuelwood at a higher than current market rate based on guaranteed contracts with ARG for a higher than market rate per green ton—all projected on payments ARG would receive from the Farm Service as part of BCAP. The BCAP, implemented in 2009, offered financial assistance to producer facilities that qualified based on usage of woody biomass in their facilities. The assistance was supposed to come in matching payments at a rate of $1 for each $1 per dry ton paid by the producer or conversion facility in an amount up to $45 per dry ton.
According to the dealers, ARG said it would set up the purchase of their delivered green tons at a lower than current market rate, but add incoming BCAP matching payments, which would actually raise the per green ton price significantly above current market value. Furthermore, the dealers said ARG was explicit in the payment arrangement: The dealers would be paid the amounts agreed upon, even if ARG did not receive its BCAP matching payment.
ARG apparently qualified initially as a conversion facility under the program, but its black liquor byproduct was not listed as part of BCAP and the matching payment program fell apart on ARG. The dealers said they were never told of this development by ARG as the dealers bypassed other business opportunities.
The Monroe Journal reported, apparently using an example in the case, that ARG, working from a market green ton price of $36, reduced it $6 to $30, and then calculated a BCAP matching payment of $11.25, bringing the total payment per green ton to $41.25, which would give dealers a $5 boost above current market value. But the dealers never received the enhanced rate.
Each of the seven timber dealer-logging companies were awarded $1 million in punitive damages, and varying amounts of compensatory damages ranging from $77,000 to $344,000.
Georgia-Pacific purchased the Alabama River and Alabama Pine pulp mills in July 2010.
Sumitomo To Construct 50 MW Power Plant
Sumitomo Corp. will construct a 50 MW wood biomass power plant in Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture (Sakata Biomass Power Plant) through Summit Energy Corp., a power producer and supplier wholly owned by Sumitomo.
The Sakata Biomass Power Plant will be constructed in the Sakata Rinkai Industrial Park located adjacent the Port of Sakata and will be operated by Summit Sakata Power Corp., a company established in December 2012 and wholly owned by Summit Energy. The total project costs are expected to be 25 billion yen. Construction work will start in June 2016 and the plant is scheduled to be put into commercial operation in May 2018.
This 50 MW biomass power plant will be one of the largest in the Tohoku region. Biomass fuels will be procured through Sumitomo’s Materials, Supplies & Real Estate Div., which has a strong track record and expertise in handling Japanese wood chips, imported wood pellets and other renewable fuels. It is planned that fuels will be procured not just from local sources—such as unused wood materials and timber off-cuts from within and around Yamagata Prefecture, an area with abundant forest resources—but also from overseas sources.
With the addition of the Sakata Biomass Power Plant to its existing power plants—the Itoigawa Biomass Power Plant (50 MW), which went into commercial operation in January 2005, and the Handa Biomass Power Plant (75 MW), which is slated to start commercial operation by June 2017—Summit Energy will become one of the largest biomass power plant owners and operators in Japan.
Belgian Eco Energy Contracts With Veolia
Belgian Eco Energy (Bee) has contracted with Veolia for the operation of a new 215 MW biomass power plant to be built at Port of Ghent, Belgium.
“With Veolia, we are confident of having a world-renowned partner able to commit to a results guarantee because of the experience they have acquired with similar projects,” says Michael Corten, CEO of Bee.
Construction of the plant, scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2016, will take three years and create more than 1,000 jobs. The electricity generated will be sold to industrial concerns and fed into the grid.
Veolia will work with Bee right from the beginning of this construction phase in order to ensure the best operability of the facility and then take charge, under the best possible conditions, of the power plant it will operate for the first 15 years after it is commissioned.
By providing 2% of Belgium’s total electricity production, the plant will contribute to increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix.
Created in 2010, Bee is a Belgian company that provides companies with renewable energy including biomass, cogeneration, solar and wind power.
Lignetics Acquires Geneva Wood Fuels
Lignetics Inc. acquired the assets of GF Funding LLC (whose facility was formerly known as Geneva Wood Fuels), expanding its footprint into Maine and upper New England.
Lignetics is the largest residential wood pellet manufacturing company in the U.S. with a production capacity of 550,000 tons per year. The company is the only pellet manufacturing company that has wood pellet manufacturing plants on the East Coast and the West Coast in six plant locations in Maine, Oregon, Idaho, West Virginia and Virginia.
Ken Tucker, CEO of Lignetics, states, “Completing this acquisition is in line with our strategy to continue to expand our geographic footprint in the U.S. and remain the market leader in the residential wood pellet industry. Geneva has great customers which we look forward to continuing to support with the help of Jeff and Lucinda Allen and the rest of the team in Strong, Maine.”
Lignetics was founded in 1983 and is one of the founding pioneers of manufacturing premium wood pellets and Pres-to-Logs fire logs for home heating. Lignetics offers a broad array of products that include wood fuel pellets in bagged and bulk form, animal bedding pellets and shavings, BBQ pellets in a variety of flavors and compressed wood bricks and logs.
Phoenix To Install GE Gasification
GE’s Distributed Power business, Western Energy Systems and San Francisco-based Phoenix Energy have signed an agreement for GE to provide equipment for an integrated biomass gasification solution to power a bioenergy plant in North Fork, Calif., the next in a series of bioenergy plants that Phoenix Energy is building in the state. GE’s integrated biomass gasification solution includes an Ecomagination qualified, 1 MW engine and biomass gasification system. Phoenix Energy and GE have collaborated to design and implement this solution statewide.
For the North Fork project, Phoenix Energy will use the GE gasification solution to convert excess forest biomass to electricity, heat and biochar, supporting the state and federal efforts to reduce wildfire risk, eliminate wasteful pile and burn management practices and improve carbon sequestration. The renewable biomass is procured locally from U.S. Forest Service and CalFire managed lands. With GE’s process, the carbon in the biomass is left mostly in solid form as biochar. This biochar is then put back into California agriculture to improve soil health and water retention and can also be used as carbon filter media. GE will provide the gasifier, gas conditioning system and engine.
“GE is the first company to offer us a single end-to-end solution on the complete biomass system, rather than piecing it all together from multiple vendors. This is game changing for the forested communities,” says Phoenix Energy CEO Greg Stangl.
The North Fork project is the recipient of a $4.9 million grant awarded by the California Energy Commission. Other Phoenix Energy projects nearing agreement will interconnect with various local utilities under California’s new SB-1122 legislation, which seeks to support further deployment of bioenergy in the state.
Phoenix Energy plans to commence operation of the North Fork plant in the fourth quarter of 2016. GE and Western Energy Systems also will provide technical support and service for Phoenix Energy’s installed systems.
Westervelt Gains SBP Certification
The Westervelt Company announced that its wood pellet production facility in Aliceville, Ala., operated by Westervelt Renewable Energy, LLC, has been certified to the Sustainable Biomass Partnership (SBP) Framework by global organization NSF International Strategic Registrations.
The SBP Framework of standards and processes enables producers of woody biomass to demonstrate they source their raw material responsibly, complying with the regulatory and sustainability requirements applicable to power generators burning woody biomass to produce energy.
“Seeking internationally-recognized certification for our renewable energy operations validates our ongoing commitment to best management practices as we seek to fulfill our land stewardship mission,” says Alicia Cramer, president, Westervelt Renewable Energy. “With SBP certification, we have added another layer of affirmation that our long-established forestry and sustainability practices meet the needs of both the present and the future.”
Indeck Qualifies For PFI Standards
Indeck Ladysmith, LLC, manufacturer of Indeck Energy Premium Wood Pellets, announced its qualification to the Pellet Fuels Institute (PFI) Standards Program. As a program participant, the company can proudly display the PFI Quality Mark on Indeck Energy Premium Wood Pellet Fuel bags.
“Producing consistent quality premium wood pellet fuel has always been and will continue to be one of our highest priorities in order to ensure consistent fuel for our customers,” says Nunzio Maniaci, business development manager.
The PFI Standards Program is relatively new and the only one of its kind in the United States. Indeck Ladysmith, LLC is currently one of 13 wood pellet manufacturers that have qualified for the program in the U.S.
To meet the criteria of the PFI Standards Program, Indeck Ladysmith, LLC, works on an ongoing basis with an independent accredited auditing agency and testing laboratory. Random monthly audits are performed at Indeck Ladysmith, LLC to ensure a quality program is being followed. This is in addition to daily in-house quality testing conducted by trained personnel. Auditors randomly sample and test wood pellets according to the program specifications on an ongoing basis.
“We are very pleased to have qualified for this accreditation program,” says Darren Winchester, Safety, Quality and Logistics manager at the Indeck Ladysmith Biofuel Center. “It demonstrates our commitment to product quality and consistency, proving to our retailers and customers that we strive to produce a clean and efficient fuel source.”
Kior Plant Equipment Sold To Energy Firm
Georgia Renewable Power has reportedly purchased the defunct biofuel refinery plant built and briefly operated by KiOR in Columbus, Miss. for $2.1 million. Various reports indicate GRP will either remove the equipment from the site or operate a wood chip mill there. The land will revert to the Lowndes County Port Authority.
KiOR built a $200 million biofuel plant that was designed to convert wood chips to fuel. The company struggled to make the facility operational, and it has not operated since late 2013. KiOR reportedly owes the state of Mississippi approximately $69 million in loans.
Bioenergy Booming In European Union
European Biomass Assn. (AEBIOM) released its annual Statistical Report, which shows that in 2015 bioenergy is accounting for more than 60% of all renewable energy consumed in the EU28. “Bioenergy is by far the leading renewable energy source in Europe, accounting for 61.2% of all RES energy consumed,” explains Cristina Calderón, publishing director of the AEBIOM Statistical Report.
The increasing demand can be explained by the fact that biomass is the only renewable energy source providing solutions for all energy sectors: transport, power and heating & cooling. According to the AEBIOM Statistical Report, 74.6% of the biomass consumed for energy purposes is used to produce heat, followed by bioelectricity and biofuels for transport.
According to the AEBIOM report, about 70% of total bioenergy feedstock delivered in Europe originates from the forestry sector, while the rest comes from waste and agriculture.
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