Summary
• Russia is a growing market for Wärtsilä.
• Using on-site waste wood cuts down on vehicle movements.
• Talbott’s is opening a biomass technology sales centre.
• A long-term supply of raw material is crucial.
With fossil fuel prices rising by the day and concerns about carbon emissions and climate change, wood-fuelled biomass is becoming an increasingly attractive proposition. As many timber businesses are already aware, investment in biomass technology can enable them to generate their own heat and power and, in some cases, to add another revenue stream, either by selling energy, or the wood fuel itself.
The range of alternatives is enormous: at the top end of the scale, the combined heat and power plant (CHP) is an option. A major player in CHP provision is the Finnish company Wärtsilä, and its experiences in the global market show how varied agendas can be.
Its main focus of activity is Europe (with Russia a growing market) and, according to biopower sales general manager Tauno Kuitunen, where green electricity subsidies exist, power is the product of choice. However, in the Nordic countries, where winters are long and district heating is widely used, more heat than power is needed.
“Our clients in Germany sell everything they produce; in Sweden, where we have mostly supplied CHP plants for district heating companies, the whole production is sold onwards. In the Czech Republic and Ireland, our typical customers are sawmills who use most of the heat themselves, only selling the electricity they can’t use.”
“Biomass-fired heating is ideal for public buildings with heating requirements of 50kW and above,” says Talbott’s Biomass Energy Ltd.
The company’s original systems were developed for the woodworking industry and it is now one of the UK’s leading biomass energy specialists with more than 4,500 installations worldwide. It manufactures over 40 different systems, ranging from heating for factories, private and public buildings, through to electricity generators and large-scale CHPs.
Growth market
Talbotts has seen significant growth in its market sector due to rising energy prices and the need to seek alternative energy sources. It has worked with The Carbon Trust over recent years and many of its customers have been supported by the latter’s interest-free loan scheme. The largest area of growth has been not only within the woodworking sectors but also public buildings such as leisure centres, hotels and country estates.
The key benefits of using on-site generated wood waste or locally produced biomass are to reduce transport of waste to landfill, displace the use of fossil fuels and to increase on-site self-sustainability.
“It is exciting to be at the forefront of such an important environmental solution, with the rapid development of this sector,” said Talbott’s managing director Amy Fielding. “Talbotts is reinvesting in the company to continue to accommodate the biomass market requirements.”
The company recently moved to a larger capacity 30,000ft² factory where it will open a biomass technology sales centre in September. It will provide advice on Talbott’s technology, plus information on biomass.
Further up the supply chain, fuel production is also becoming big business. Vecoplan, which manufactures equipment such as shredders, chippers, conveyers and storage, says that fuel preparation for the energy market is its biggest growth area.
Pellet production
The Briquette & Pellet Company is also finding its equipment in more demand. It originally exported its briquettes and pellets from the US to the UK, but a recent installation at JELD-WEN’s components factory in Lowestoft marked its first venture into manufacturing on these shores. Under the alliance almost 10,000 tonnes of untreated wood waste will be recycled into pellets per year and JELD-WEN reports it has taken “a number of orders [for pellets] from the private sector”.
JELD-WEN is also in talks with a waste recycling company and a kit housebuilder about processing their waste wood. And the plant can now take clean hardwood and softwood offcuts, not just sawdust.
The Briquette & Pellet Co is negotiating the installation of its equipment at other sawmills and manufacturers. “We supply the equipment and bear the cost of the installation and they provide the space, the power and the material,” said the company’s Dan Rudge.
He points out that material supply is one of the crucial elements. “Storage isn’t normally a problem because we sell it as we make it, although we try to keep 100 tonnes in stock,” he said. “But you need a minimum of 5,000 tonnes of material a year.”
Vecoplan managing director Jerry Quickenden agrees: “The most important thing is long-term availability of the raw material – and a long-term, secure outlet for the processed material.”
The operational costs should also be considered. “These are usually far more important factors in the project lifetime cost than the initial capital cost,” he added.
