Preliminary
Plans and Specifications
for three (3)
300 MWe Biomass Plants
|
Client Mott
MacDonald, Ltd. |
for |
Drax Power,
Ltd. |
Completion Date
January, 2010
Project Description
Drax
Power owns/operates the 4000MW pulverized coal-fired Drax Power Station in
North Yorkshire. This is the largest,
cleanest, and most efficient coal-fired power station in the UK. It provides enough power to meet 7% of the
UK’s electricity needs. Drax Power recently
installed 500MW biomass of co-firing systems at the plant. Based upon this experience in biomass and the
need for renewable energy in the UK, Drax Power initiated plans for three (3)
300MWe biomass CFB (circulating fluidized bed) plants. This significant
investment could result in Drax supplying 15% of the UK’s renewable power and
up to 10% of total UK electricity. The total renewable capacity the biomass
co-firing and CFB plants will provide 1,400MW of renewable energy, enough to
power 2 million homes - the equivalent output of 2,000 wind turbines
Biomass
materials include sustainable wood-based products, forestry residues, residual
agricultural products, such as sunflower seed husks and peanut husks, and
processed products - like wood pellets and briquettes. For the co-firing work, Drax conducted
extensive product trials resulting in a ready and flexible supply of raw
materials through working with leading producer groups across forestry, farming
and agricultural industries. Supply
agreements were placed with local producer groups and supplier groups for plant
requirements.
Mott
MacDonald was retained by Drax Power as the Power Plant Technical Advisor for
the three (3) 300MWe biomass power plant projects. Energy Associates assisted Mott MacDonald
with the biomass receiving, storage, reclaiming, processing, handling, and
boiler feed systems. Preliminary design
work was completed to support the permitting effort and to develop site
plans. EPC specifications were prepared
for Drax Power to proceed with the bidding and contracting effort.