Thenergo, a leading European Combined Heat and Power (CHP) clean energy company announces today that it is developing a 5MW electricity and biocoal plant, or E-park, in northern Holland.
In partnership with Eclair-E, a Dutch CHP sustainable energy supplier and Venture Kapitaalfonds III BV a 100% subsidiary of NV NOM, the investment and development agency for the Northern Netherlands, the E-park will generate annually up to 42,800MWh of power and 75K/ton of biocoal pellets.
Biocoal is thermally processed wood debris, forest residue and chippings. In pellet form it is a multipurpose clean burning fuel, easy to store and handle. It provides a much needed renewable energy source for Europe.
Located on the Dutch-German border near Coevorden, the project will begin construction in April 2008 and is expected to be fully operational within 18 months. The development and building costs will require an investment of €30 million. Thenergo will have a majority interest in the project.
The announcement of Thenergo's first E-park comes shortly after Thenergo revealed that it has begun work on a 3.2 MW CHP agri-waste to electricity facility, or E-farm, in West Flanders (Belgium).
Thenergo's CEO Kurt Alen commented: "The combination of biocoal and electricity production adds a critical energy layer to Thenergo's biomass business model. Our new partnership with Eclair-E and NOM has ambitions to develop a number of sustainable energy projects both in the Netherlands and internationally".
In this first truly cross-border bio energy project, electricity will be sold to German grid operators, while biocoal pellets will supply Dutch and German coal fired power stations. The E-park will generate average annual sales of up to €13 million.
The E-park's primary fuel will come from regionally sourced forest debris and pruned wood from public land (225K/t per year). Since biocoal pellets are water resistant they can be stored for many years without decay. The higher energy density allows for up to 25% savings on transport and storage. Biocoal pellets enable large scale co-firing of biomass in existing coal-fired power stations, with virtually no additional investment or handling.
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