In Germany, paper and energy group Koehler Holding SE & Co. KG (Koehler Group) has announced that it has successfully converted its power plant at the Koehler Paper site in Greiz from lignite fuel to using fine wood fraction. Experts from Koehler Renewable Energy (KRE), which is part of the Koehler Group, have succeeded in developing a technique that makes it possible for a type of biomass to be used as fuel in the existing coal-fired power plant in a completely new way.
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According to a statement, this is a first in the market and opens up countless new opportunities for the decarbonization of combined heat and power (CHP) plants.
The conversion of the CHP plant from lignite to fine wood fraction fuel at the Greiz site is part of the Koehler Group’s climate strategy and an investment in the future.
Koehler has set itself the goal of producing more energy with its own renewable energy facilities from renewable sources than is required for its paper production operations by 2030.
To achieve this aim, the company continues to invest in biomass combined heat and power plants, wind farms, hydroelectric power, and solar energy.
Replacing fossil fuels brings Koehler even closer to our objective of Group-wide decarbonization. The plan is to reduce the Koehler Group’s scope 1 direct greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2030 in comparison to the levels from 2022. The Koehler Paper site in Greiz has already made a start towards this with its pilot system, said Dr Stefan Karrer, COO of the Koehler Group.
The conversion process for the Koehler power plant in Greiz has been given extensive support from the experts at Koehler Renewable Energy (KRE).
The structural implementation was carried out by a project team from Koehler Innovation & Technology in cooperation with local experts on-site at the Koehler Paper site in Greiz.
Switching from lignite to fine wood fraction will allow us to save more than 24 000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year at the Greiz plant, remarked Udo Hollbach, Managing Director of the Koehler Paper site in Greiz.
Sets sights on energy independence
The Koehler Group has invested around EUR 8 million for the entire plant conversion project. Investing in its own power generation projects is a strategic decision for the entire Koehler Group.
As large volumes of energy are needed for paper processing and drying, the company started up its own CHP plant at the Koehler Paper site in Greiz in 2010.
The current dramatic fluctuations in energy prices highlight the importance of becoming increasingly independent of third-party utilities so as to keep the creation of value within the Koehler Group.
The acquisition of the Zollikofer Group, a major provider of biomass, will ensure that Koehler has the required amount of fuel for its biomass power plants in the long term.
Inaugural test run
Numerous guests from the worlds of politics and business attended the celebration on March 29, 2023, to mark the inaugural test run of the power plant in Greiz
Attendees included Wolfgang Tiefensee, Thuringia’s Minister for Economics, Science and Digital Society; Dirk Bergner, Member of the Land Thuringia, FDP; Mario Suckert, President of Thuringia’s State Office for the Environment, Mining and Nature Conservation; Alexander Schulze, Mayor of the City of Greiz; and Grit Booth, Head of the office for the Thuringia Sustainability Agreement.
With the conversion of the power plant here in Greiz, Koehler has clearly demonstrated that the company is helping us here in Thuringia as a sustainable business location to strengthen. Koehler is a role model with its measures to achieve climate neutrality, said Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee in his address.