In the UK, SIMEC Atlantis Energy Ltd (Atlantis), a diversified sustainable energy generation company, has announced that it has awarded the Front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract to a consortium of WSP UK Ltd (WSP) and RJM Corporation Technical Services Ltd (RJM) for the Uskmouth Power Station conversion project in Wales. The 363 MW coal-fired power station will be converted to a 220 MW baseload plant that will run on 100 percent waste derived energy pellets.
According to a statement, the consortium will deliver the Final Design Specification for the plant which will enable Atlantis to award the Engineering Procurement and Construct (EPC) contract with full performance guarantees to facilitate financial close on the Uskmouth Conversion Project within 2019. The total contract size is GBP4.9 million (≈ EUR 5.63 million) and is expected to take approximately 12 months to complete making this the largest contract awarded to date by SIMEC Atlantis Energy.
The conversion of Uskmouth from coal to run on waste-derived fuel is an exciting project that will provide a new lease of life to the site. It will ensure the UK is ready for a future focused on reduced coal and increased renewable energy generation. WSP, working with RJM, is pleased to support SIMEC Atlantis Energy at Uskmouth providing front-end engineering design and Owner’s Engineer services, Uskmouth, adds to WSP’s increasing portfolio of conversion and replanting projects on existing or brownfield sites, commented Brian Sibthorp, Director, Thermal Power Plant at WSP.
The purpose of the FEED contract is to complete all technical testing and design work required to demonstrate that the waste-derived energy pellets provided by SIMEC Subcoal Fuels Ltd, a joint venture between Dutch company N+P Group (N+P) and SIMEC Group, can be used as a fuel to convert the plant from generating power from coal to running on 100 percent energy pellets.
In doing so, a Final Design Specification will be completed enabling Atlantis to award the Engineering Procurement and Construct contract with full performance guarantees to facilitate financial close on the Uskmouth Conversion Project.
As an award-winning provider of innovative energy and emissions reduction solutions, we at RJM are delighted to be developing the FEED study alongside WSP. We’ve been working at the Uskmouth site since July 2015, from the inception of this unique conversion project, before moving onto a feasibility study and then completing the important pre-FEED study. As a business, we are as committed as SIMEC Atlantis Energy, the operator, to using this project as a blueprint for further conversion of similar plants worldwide to help address the key challenge of how we can treat waste material in an environmentally responsible manner and use it to generate low carbon energy, said John Goldring, Managing Director at RJM.
Post conversion, the power station will export 220 MW of baseload power to the grid using energy pellets produced from non-recyclable waste destined for landfill, with an average calorific value of 20 MJ per kg. The energy pellets will be produced by technology developed N+P, through the SSF joint venture.
Four new plants will be developed in the UK, including one already in construction in Teesport to produce the pellets. The largest plant is anticipated to be located next to Uskmouth Power Station, which will consume 600 000 tonnes of waste per year and provide a significant private wire opportunity for SIMEC Uskmouth Power Ltd (SUP).
The conversion is expected to take 18 months post completion of the FEED study and the converted station will have an operational life of 20 years.
