UK's largest coal-fired power station signs £10 million deal to install biomass co-firing

Doosan Babcock Energy Limited, which designs, supplies and constructs advanced steam generation technology, is  to provide the direct injection biomass co-firing systems to all six coal-fired generating units at the 4,000MW Drax Power Station. Co-firing involves the mixing and burning of renewable biomass materials with coal.

The biomass co-firing facility will reduce Drax Power Station’s emissions of CO2 by over two and a half million tonnes per annum and make the facility the largest of its type in the world, according to its parent company Drax Power. On completion, it will provide a total of 500MW of renewable electricity, or the equivalent output of over 600 wind turbines.

Drax said work would commence immediately on the project, beginning with the detailed engineering design and procurement of key items of equipment. Installation of the direct injection systems is scheduled to be complete towards the end of 2009. All six generating units will be commissioned in parallel with the delivery of the biomass handling and processing plant programme.

Dorothy Thompson, chief executive of Drax, said: “In August, we were pleased to announce that the identification of biomass sources in excess of our direct injection project requirements meant that we could run the new facility alongside our existing co-firing capability to give us a total renewable capacity of 500MW, making us the largest single site renewable generator in the UK.

“At Drax, we are only too well aware of the need to tackle climate change and the competence we have developed in biomass procurement and project execution means that we are able to play our part in the move towards a low carbon economy, whilst at the same time delivering reliable and secure supplies of electricity.”

Iain Miller,  chief executive officer, Doosan Babcock, said: “This is an important project that delivers a cost-effective low carbon technology solution in support of Drax’s commitment to tackle climate change by reducing CO2 emissions”.

Drax Power Station said it was also making progress with its turbine upgrade project, with the installation of the new turbine modules already completed on one-third of its generating units. When complete across all six generating units the new turbines will deliver a further saving of one million tonnes in CO2 emissions. Combined with achieving 12.5 per cent output from renewables, Drax said it was set to reduce its annual emissions of CO2 by over 15 per cent by 2011.