Energy from Non-Fossil Fuels

ALSTOM Power
Industrial Gas Turbines

ALSTOM Power's Industrial Turbine Segment in Lincoln, UK has a turnover of around 400 million Euro and employs around 2300 staff at its sites at Lincoln and Aberdeen. The Company is a major supplier of small industrial gas turbines in the 3 -15MW power range.

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Its products include the 4.3MW Typhoon, the 6.75MW Tornado, the 7.90MW Tempest and the 12.90MW Cyclone. Machines are supplied for both the power generation market (including cogeneration) and mechanical drive applications, particularly for the Oil and Gas industry. Overall ALSTOM Power is the world's second largest supplier of gas turbines in this power range. In total the Company has sold or installed 3269 gas turbines in 87 countries and accumulated over 170 million operating hours experience.

The Company is the leading player in the non-fossil fuels market, having supplied two Typhoon gas turbines for operation on very low calorific value biomass-derived fuel gases, and is aiming to increase its contribution to carbon dioxide reduction through the use of carbon-neutral fuels. Gasification of biomass and use of the resultant gases in a combined cycle gas turbine power generation plant enables higher electrical efficiencies to be achieved than by using direct combustion in boilers or incineration with power generation using conventional steam turbines. Efficiencies of over 40% can be achieved with a small-scale biomass-fuelled combined cycle scheme as opposed to around 25% for steam turbines, improving the competitiveness of electricity generated from biomass-fuelled plant. Gasification technology can also lead to significantly lower emissions of pollutants such as NOx and dust.

The first unit was supplied by ALSTOM Power was to Sydkraft of Sweden for the Varnamo demonstration plant, the world's first Biomass Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (B-IGCC) scheme. The gas turbine has completed nearly 4000 hours operation on gases derived from a variety of biomass fuels, including wood, wood/bark mixtures, straw and Refuse Derived Fuel. This demonstration plant provided 6MW of electricity to the local grid and 9MW of heat to the town's district heating scheme and successfully demonstrated the potential of biomass gasification technology when combined with a gas turbine.

A Typhoon industrial gas turbine is installed at the ARBRE project in Yorkshire, the world's first commercial B-IGCC plant, providing 8MW of 'green ' electricity.

The second biomass-fuelled unit is currently being commissioned for the ARBRE project located at Eggborough in Yorkshire, where the intended fuel is Short Rotation Coppice (willow). This plant will be the world's first commercial B-IGCC plant, providing 8MW of 'green' electricity.

The company is pursuing new opportunities for both power generation and cogeneration, both at home and abroad, where the fuel gas is derived from biomass sources - waste wood, forestry residues, agricultural residues (including bagasse and rice husks), Municipal Solid Waste and dried sewage sludge being typical gasifier feedstocks. Potential projects include cogeneration schemes in industry using wastes produced by the industrial process as the fuel source, and rural electrification schemes where locally produced agricultural wastes or specially grown energy crops such as willow or miscanthus are used as the feedstock.

ALSTOM Power invests heavily in R&D to remain at the forefront of technology and in a competitive position in the market place. Key objectives are increased efficiency, wider fuel ranges, reduced costs and reduced emissions. All the Company's existing machines satisfy existing emissions legislation and continuing emphasis on combustion R&D will ensure that the Company continues to meet emerging legislation on emissions across its complete gas turbine product range.

Contact:
Mike Welch
Business Development Manager
ALSTOM Power UK Ltd
PO Box 1
Waterside South
Lincoln LN5 7FD
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1522 584164
Email: mike.welch@power.alstom.com

 

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