“Traditionally, Turboden has developed projects in which ORC units were suitable for district-heating in small or medium-sized villages,” says Paolo Bertuzzi, general manager, Turboden.
“With these larger scale trigeneration projects, we're delivering cost-saving renewable energy solutions for some of the UK’s most prominent institutions. We’re proud to now be able to enter the UK market,” Bertuzzi said.
Both projects will utilize Turboden Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbogenerators.
British Sky Broadcasting Ltd (BSkyB) is developing a 1 MW CCHP plant as an integral part of its carbon cutting emissions plans for its new studio, editing and transmission and data facility.
The main BSkyB campus in Hounslow, West London, will receive 32 tons of wood chips per day from local businesses within 25 miles of the facility.
The wood products are burned at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius to heat thermal oil systems, which drives the 1 MW ORC turbine. Lower-grade heat is then recovered to create chilled water for cooling and the remaining heat is used for hot water.
One of the key initial objectives of the ORC plant was to offset at least 20 percent of the new facility’s C02 emissions, but the plant has doubled this to up to 40 percent since it was installed last December, said Steve Holford, head of engineering projects and energy at BSkyB.
BAA Airports Limited, which operates six airports in the UK, including London Heathrow, is installing Turboden’s second ORC plant in the UK.
London Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in the world, serving some 180 destinations in more than 90 countries. Turboden’s biomass-fuelled CCHP ORC unit at London Heathrow will use clean wood waste to produce 1.8 MW of electricity and 8MW of thermal heat and cooling to Terminals T2a and T2b, and heat only to Terminal T5. Construction of the Heathrow plant is almost complete and start-up is expected by summer.
Similar trigenerative CCHP ORC plants have recently been installed at a public hospital in Every, France, and another CCHP ORC plant is now underway for a five-star hotel in Poland.
“At a time when the UK government is formally assessing the potential of renewable electricity and heating technologies in the country through 2030, we are showcasing the flexibility and cost effectiveness of biomass-fuelled plants,” Bertuzzi said. “These projects provide a significant example of how biomass can contribute to meeting the country’s renewable energy goals.”
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