In Utah, the United States (US), Active Energy Group Plc (AEG), a UK-headed renewable energy, forestry management, and timber processing business has held the official opening of its first commercial-scale CoalSwitch advanced biomass pellet plant.
Held on February 9, the event consisted of an introduction to AEG, its Utah operations, management team and a demonstration of the reactors which can produce five tonnes per hour of finished CoalSwitch product. This equates to an annual production of more than 40 000 tonnes of product, depending on the type of raw material being used in the process.
The material used for the demonstration was supplied by Young Living Farms (YLF) for the launch of a new product for soil enhancement in Utah. YLF is looking to develop a new product, utilising the CoalSwitch process from existing waste materials from existing YLF processing plants.
Following the official opening of the plant in Utah, members of the management team, including Richard Spinks, CEO and Phil Scalzo, Chief Technical Officer, gave a presentation to parties that had been invited to the plant opening.
The first public demonstration of biomass “beneficiation” of biomass using a CoalSwitch plant was initiated by Ken Clark, Business Development Specialist for PacifiCorp, the parent company of Rocky Mountain Power, with whom Active Energy has been working closely for two years on a coal/biomass co-firing project that is being supported by and conducted under the State of Utah’s Legislated STEP Program.
The event was also supported by representatives from the Office of Energy Development (OED) of the State of Utah including Dr Laura Nelson, Executive Director of the Utah Governors’ Office of Energy Development and Energy Advisor to the Governor of Utah. Representatives from the forestry management industry, timber processing/sawmilling, coal mining/coal waste reclamation industries were also in attendance.
The opening of AEG’s new CoalSwitch plant once again demonstrates Utah’s leadership as an exploratory frontier for advancing new and innovative energy solutions that will drive positive outcomes for our economy and environment. The technology was developed and manufactured in Utah, and we’re excited to see its rising global impact, said Dr Laura Nelson, Director of Office of Energy.
Prior to the event, a number of meetings took place with leading companies, including Rocky Mountain Power, the owner, and operator of the Hunter Unit 3 Plant in Utah where the co-firing project is scheduled to be conducted in 2018. The co-firing project at Hunter Unit 3 will be the first time a full-scale coal-fired power station will use CoalSwitch’s processed biomass product as a fuel source.
We are now focused on the next commercial milestones for Active Energy including the global roll-out of CoalSwitch fuel and CoalSwitch production plants, which have the potential to change the power generation industry. Our products unique properties and its ability to be a direct drop-in fuel to the power industry is a game-changer. The new business opportunities in utilising the CoalSwitch process toward agricultural waste creating engineered soils adds a potential revenue opportunity for Active Energy. Most importantly from an environmental perspective, CoalSwitch’s ability to use the waste, residuals and poor-quality lumber generated by timberlands and timber production companies throughout the world in an economical and sustainable way, creates a win-win for all parties, remarked Richard Spinks, CEO, Active Energy Group.
