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Wärtsilä Biopower has its sights set on the
world bio-energy markets. The company's aim is to be the first
in the world to be able to offer small-sized combined general
production and heating plants that use bio-fuel. There is
a great deal of market potential and the first references
speak for themselves.
Wärtsilä Biopower, which is part of the Finnish
Wärtsilä Corporation, believes that there will be
strong growth on the market for decentralized plants that
produce electricity and heating and for electricity production
based on the use of bio-fuels.
Through its commitment to the Kyoto Accord alone the European
Union intends to reduce between 2008 and 2012 emissions that
cause the greenhouse phenomena by eight per cent compared
with the 1990 figures. Clean energy will play a major part
in the achievement of this target. The EU's aim is to increase
electricity production based on bio-fuels tenfold by 2010,
which will require investment of 25 billion euros. Because
of the availability of fuels a considerable portion of the
investment will be targeted at local small-scale combined
production plants.
"Our aim is to increase sales from this year's figure
of 40 million euros to 150 million euros by 2005 and at the
same time become the clear market leader on our present target
markets," says director Jussi Heikkinen. "In the
future it will be increasingly important for the image of
green energy to bring added value to a company that uses it
and to the whole of society.
Bio power-plant will reduce costs
Previously a sufficiently low acquisition cost level has
been attained only with big plants. With the development of
the series production idea small-sized combined production
plants can be made competitive in terms of price against all
the other power plant solutions. The new modular plants are
central to Wärtsilä's aim of developing solutions
that are sustainable for the environment.
Plants linked directly to electricity and heating distribution
networks will minimize the costs of transmitting energy. When
the required bio-fuel is obtained from relatively close-at-hand
sources, transportation expenses and emissions caused by transportation
will be reduced. The bio-fuel will be obtained from bio-masses
growing in forests, marshes and fields and from organic solid,
liquid and gaseous by-products that are suitable for the production
of energy for society, agriculture and industry.
Wärtsilä uses the patented BioGrate incineration
technique at its plants. It is particularly well suited to
wet logging residue, forest processed chips, bark and sawdust.
Customer determines quality
Wärtsilä Biopower has packaged two different-sized
modular power plants that are based on the rotating BioGrate
grate, a steam boiler and turbine. At present several Biopower
power plants are under construction in Finland, Sweden and
western Europe. Besides Finland and the EU, the most important
target areas are the coniferous wood zones in North America
and the southern parts of South America.
At best the small-scale joint production of electricity and
heating based on bio-fuels is carried out at places where
by-product bio-masses are generated, such as at sawmills and
by the furniture and wood products industries. The heating
produced can be used efficiently, for example, for drying
wood, producing steam and heating for an industrial plant,
or as district heating for a centre of population.
"The customer's expectations and demands together determine
the quality of Wärtsilä's plants. Our long-term
experience on the power plant market and precise quality control
help to ensure that we can deliver both plants and their associated
services on global markets in line with the customer's demands,"
Jussi Heikkinen stresses.
>> www.wartsila.com
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