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| Acciona Energy puts into service biomass plant in Spain  Acciona Energy has grid connected its second biomass plant from straw combustionin Spain, at Briviesca (province of Burgos). It is the first to use this type of fuel in the region of Castilla y León, central Spain. The facility, in which the Ente Regional de la Energía (EREN)-a public regional energy entity- participates with 15% of the capital, has meant an investment of 50 million euros, plus the creation of 100 permanent jobs (25 of the them direct jobs in the plant), as well as the 300 created during the construction phases. Through this plant Acciona strengthens its status as the main Spanish benchmark in the use of herbaceous agricultural waste for the production of electricity.The 16-megawatt (MW) plant at Briviesca will burn around 102,000 metric tons of straw a year to produce around 128 million kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable energy, equivalent to the consumption of around 40,000 homes. This will avoid the emission of 123,000 metric tons of CO2 from conventional coal-fired power stations, with a cleaning effect on the atmosphere equivalent to 6 million trees through the process of photosynthesis. Acciona Energy has carried out the development, engineering and construction of the plant and will operate it under its ownership. It has guaranteed the supply of raw material -mainly from Burgos and Palencia provinces - through medium- and long-term supply contracts with over 100 farmers and 38 companies based in Castilla y Leon. The plant has already sent its first kilowatts to the grid this week, as part of a trial phase prior to full-scale production that will last three months. To materialize this project, an essential factor has been Acciona Energy's experience in the use of biomass for energy purposes, both in the engineering, construction and operation of this type of plant and in the supply logistics for the fuel. This second area is very important in order to ensure the efficiency and profitablility of this type of installation. write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Construction News :: home page |