Co-firing biomass

Through our parent company, RWE npower, we are continuing to develop opportunities to utilise biomass as a renewable energy source at our fossil-fuelled power stations. A major ongoing investment programme is enabling us to replace a proportion of our fossil fuels such as coal and heavy fuel oil, with carbon neutral biomass. Using biomass makes a valuable contribution towards reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, thus helping to combat climate change.

The biomass fuel, PKE, which is co-fired at Didcot Power Station

By 2006, we will have invested over £15m in our biomass handling facilities, complementing our other significant investments in renewable energy. These projects form part of a diverse renewable portfolio contributing to the UK government's renewable energy objectives.

Currently we are able to replace a proportion of the coal used in generation at our three large coal fired stations (Aberthaw, Tilbury and Didcot) with biomass products such as wood (in the form of sawdust) and palm kernel expeller (PKE).

The biomass is introduced via the coal conveyor at Tilbury and Didcot and through a direct injection system at Aberthaw. Typically the power stations use heavy fuel oil to start up the plant, but we have successfully replaced this oil with tallow - a renewable, CO2-neutral fuel. We also are assessing the potential of other, plant-based bio-oils as substitutes for heavy fuel oil.

Willow coppice at Hatfield (c) TV Bioenergy Coppice

In the future, we hope to use energy crops in our power stations as part of our biomass co-firing programme. We are currently working with a number of agricultural organisations to assess the potential of purpose-grown energy crops such as Miscanthus (elephant grass) and coppiced willow. In 2005, we signed a contract with ESD Biomass for 100 ha of short-rotation coppice willow around our Didcot Power Station - a first step in securing energy crops for our stations.

Didcot Power Station

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