Tag Archives: alternative
Drax First Half Earnings Down Amid Heavy Biomass Investment
30 July 2013 Drax: continued invetment in biomass Drax Power’s earnings have fallen in line with expectations as it continued to invest heavily in biomass and carbon costs ramped up in the first half of 2013. The coal generator on Tuesday reported underlying earnings of £120 million in the six months ending 30 June 2013, down 22 per cent on the previous year. It invested £138 million in its capital programme, including £106 million in biomass. The first of three units to be switched from coal to run on biomass went live in April and is said to be performing to plan. Dorothy Thompson, chief executive of Drax, said: “We are investing significant capital this year and next to transform our business, with earnings during this period impacted by the increasing costs of carbon. However, as we move beyond this investment phase and replace substantial quantities of coal with sustainable biomass, we are confident that we will deliver attractive returns for our shareholders.” The company is considering whether it is attractive to convert further units with support from the contracts for difference being brought in through the government’s Energy Bill, she added. It is also looking at the opportunity for its coal generation to participate in the planned capacity market. The converted biomass unit has proven able to generate 585MW, around 10 per cent less than each coal burner. It has been available 76 per cent of the time since it started, which the company is confident will rise to 80 per cent on average for 2013. The load factor was lower, at 57 per cent, attributed to temporary fuel constraints. Drax is also investing to build up the biomass supply chain and construction has started at US pellet plants to prepare fuel for import to the UK. Haven Power, the company’s retail arm, is expanding. It increased sales 67 per cent to £323 million, or 3.7TWh, winning big customers including Muller and Santander. Drax aims to sell 12-15TWh through Haven in 2015. Source: Utility Week Continue reading
Malaysia To Have Region’s First Biomass Plant
Monday, 05 August 2013 Malaysia will be the first in the region to have a commercial- scale biomass-ethanol plant, a boost to the National Biomass Strategy 2020 that aims to make the country the regional leader in highvalue added biomass-based industries. Malaysian interests led by Hock Lee Group has signed a memorandum of understading (MoU) with a foreign consortium, Beta Renewables, to begin a feasibility study to develop Asean’s first commercial-scale biomass-ethanol plant. Hock Lee Group was represented by CEO Yek Siew Liong while Beta Renewables was represented by its business development director Asia Pacific Peirlugi Picciotti. The setting up of the biomass- ethanol plant is in line with Sabah’s focus on growing its green industries. This initiative will be a catalyst for a biomass-based industry cluster with a wide range of new industries such as biofuels, bio-energy and biochemicals. Suitable locations in Bintulu have been identified for the project. Such a cluster is expected to increase the state’s GDP (gross domestic product) as well as create high-value jobs by attracting high-value partnerships with local companies that will also benefit local SMEs, smallholders and local communities. The group’s major shareholders were involved in oil palm plantations, banking and finance and some are still active in major regional furniture manufacturing, steel fabrication and cable manufacturing business. Over the years, the group ventured into residential & commercial property development and investments, hospitality and owns the “Xcel” petrol retail chain in Sarawak. Beta Renewables is a joint venture between M&G Finanziaria of Italy, Novozymes of Denmark and Texas Pacific Group from the US, and owns the patented PROESA technology for the conversion of nonfood ligno cellulosic biomass to ethanol. Beta Renewables has successfully completed the commissioning and start-up of the world’s first commercial scale (60,000 tonnes of ethanol capacity) biomass-to-ethanol plant in Crescentino, Italy. The feasibility study is a result of the National Biomass Strategy 2020 initiatives by Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM). AIM is in close collaboration with the Sarawak State Planning Unit and other relevant state agencies to facilitate the study which is expected to be completed by the fourthquarter of 2013. AIM’s National Biomass Strategy 2020 team has been working with the industry, academia and government stakeholders since 2011 to achieve the objective of positioning Malaysia as the region’s leader for biomassbased downstream activities globally. The MoU coupled with other significant events in Sabah recently is a sign that the industry is embracing the strategy and its highlighted opportunities. Continue reading
INEOS Bio Produces Cellulosic Ethanol at Commercial Scale
August 2, 2013 INEOS Bio’s Indian River BioEnergy Center in Vero Beach, Fla., is now producing cellulosic ethanol at commercial scale with the first ethanol shipments to be released this month. It is the first facility in the world using advanced bioenergy technology to convert vegetative and wood waste to renewable fuel and electricity, the company said. The production achievement stems from breakthrough gasification and fermentation technology for conversion of biomass waste, the company said. The biofuels produced in Florida will anchor the new production of cellulosic ethanol under the US Renewable Fuels Standard , according to INEOS Bio. The BioEnergy Center is a joint venture project between INEOS Bio and New Planet Energy. The facility has already converted several types of waste biomass material into bioethanol, including vegetative and yard waste, and citrus, oak, pine, and pallet wood waste. It will have an annual output of eight million gallons of cellulosic ethanol and six MW of renewable power. The center is also permitted to use municipal solid waste for bioethanol production during 2014, INEOS Bio said. Energy secretary Ernest Moniz called the project an important industry benchmark that proves the potential of early-stage investment into innovative technologies. The hybrid technology was originally developed with the support of the department, beginning in the 1990s, DOE said. The company said it is working to expand the use of the technology. The center will serve as a reference plan for companies and cities interested in licensing the technology for similar facilities. The project’s gasification-fermentation technology has its roots in a University of Arkansas research project, supported by a $5 million Energy Department investment over fifteen years. The Department’s early support helped this technology obtain a number of patents, with the core intellectual property purchased by INEOS Bio in 2008, DOE said. In 2009, the $130 million INEOS Bio-New Planet Energy joint venture was awarded a $50 million Energy Department grant to design, construct, commission and operate the Indian River BioEnergy Center, DOE said. According to the New York Times, the plant had expected to be operational by the end of last year. Among the setbacks was the transportation of methane gas from a nearby landfill to the plant’s boilers. Another problem was its reliance on the electrical grid. When thunderstorms knocked out the power grid, the plant unexpectedly shut down, and it took weeks to get it running again. Continue reading
