Denmark-headed energy utility DONG Energy (Ørsted) has held a ground-breaking ceremony at its Asnæs Power Station in Kalundborg. The DKK 1.2 billion (≈ EUR 161.24 million) coal to sustainable biomass conversion combined heat and power (CHP) plant project is estimated to complete by the end of 2019.
On October 30, Martin Damm, the Mayor of Kalundborg, and executives from Novo Nordisk, Novozymes, Kalundborg Forsyning and DONG Energy cut the first sod for the conversion of Asnæs Power Station. The power station will be converted to using sustainable biomass instead of coal in future.
By 2023, we’ll have phased out all use of coal at our power stations. With the conversion of Asnæs Power Station, we and our customers are taking an important step towards becoming coal-free, said Thomas Dalsgaard, Executive Vice President and CEO of Bioenergy & Thermal Power.
The conversion from coal to woodchips and other sustainable types of biomass at Asnæs Power Station will a result in a new biomass-fired plant that will have a capacity of 25MW electricity and a total of 129MW district heating and process steam. The plant will mainly run on woodchips and result in annual fossil carbon reductions of up to approximately 800 000 tonnes contributing significantly to Denmark’s green conversion.
Extensive conversion
A 20-year agreement reached earlier this year between Novo Nordisk, Novozymes, Kalundborg Forsyning and DONG Energy has enabled funding of the DKK 1.2 billion (≈ EUR 161.24 million) conversion of Asnæs Power Station. The conversion ensures a reliable supply of green heat and process steam for Kalundborg’s citizens and industrial sector in future.
Our steam and heat customers in Kalundborg have just as ambitious targets to reduce their carbon emissions as we have, and I’m happy that together we can ensure a greener energy supply to the area, said Thomas Dalsgaard.
The biomass-fired plant will be built as a separate unit in new buildings at Asnæs Power Station. The plant will be connected to the existing district heating and process steam networks and the electricity grid. The conversion also includes, among other things, a new conveyor system and woodchip storage.
Preparations for construction work have begun, and the ground-breaking marks the official start of the project which is estimated to take two years to complete with the CHP plant expected to be ready to supply green district heating to Kalundborg by the end of 2019.
