Finland-headed biomass combustion technology specialists KPA Unicon Oy has announced that it has signed a contract with Danish district heat company DIN Forsyning for the turnkey delivery of a 60 MW biomass-fired district heating plant in the Port of Esbjerg. The order marks KPA Unicon's first plant delivery to Denmark.
Owned by the municipality of Esbjerg and Varde, DIN Forsyning is a multi-utility company within water supply, wastewater treatment, district heating, household waste management, and recycling. The company supplies around 1 GWh per annum of district heating with heat primairly sourced from the Energnist waste-to-energy (WtE) plant and Ørsted’s coal-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant.
The local combined heat and power station (CHP) is to be shut down in April 2023 and DIN Forsyning is obliged to find an environmentally sustainable replacement for up to 350 MW of district heating, we received from the CHP. We are pleased to have signed the contract for the boiler plant from KPA Unicon. We will use their expertise in this important process of replacing coal with a greener alternative, said Kenneth Jørgensen, Leading Project Director in DIN Forsyning.
Part of a larger hybrid renewable heat project
DIN Forsyning’s strategic goal is to utilize only fossil-free fuels by the year 2030 and the Unicon Renefluid boiler plant is an important step to reach the set target.
The new biomass boiler plant will be located in the Port of Esbjerg. The combined capacity of the Unicon Renefluid bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) and the Unicon Condenser flue gas scrubber will be 60 MWth. The boiler plant will produce heat for the local district heating network and will use woodchips as fuel.
The plant delivered by KPA Unicon is anticipated to begin operations in January 2023 and is a significant part of a bigger plan for the site. Three de-centralized renewable heat production units are planned to be constructed to the same site for the purpose of replacing the existing coal-fired power plant.
First delivery to Denmark
According to KPA Unicon, the delivery of the plant, the value of which has not been disclosed, is extensive. It includes the Unicon Renefluid boiler with its main equipment, water treatment plant, fuel, and ash handling equipment. The supplied Unicon Condenser flue gas scrubber enables high plant efficiency.
The customer emphasizes the importance of zero discharge of wastewater and the plant will be designed to fulfill the request. Local emissions from the plant, such as dust, sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx), are very low thanks to the supplied bag filter and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) equipment.
Stable and secure remote operation of the plant is enabled on KPA Unicon’s PlantSys digital service platform. In addition, a five-year maintenance agreement has been signed with the customer, which covers 24/7 technical support and annual maintenance of the plant. The customer will be responsible for the plant building and the fuel storage.
It is great that we will deliver our first plant to Denmark and thus be involved in taking the country towards a carbon-neutral future. The plant will be the best available technology in terms of efficiency, emissions, and availability. The long service agreement is also very well in line with our development in the Scandinavian market area, remarked Ada Herranen, Project Development Manager, KPA Unicon.
