NEWS

The district heating plant in Emmaboda, Sweden will be another CHP plant with Againity’s ORC turbine

The biomass district heating plant in the city of Emmaboda, Sweden

The District Heating Plant in the city of Emmaboda, owned by Emmaboda Energi AB, decided to invest in Againity’s ORC turbine to be able to generate local (and fossil-free) electricity from biomass. In addition to the investment, the entire operation contributes to a more sustainable environment through increased production of electricity from renewable sources. The costs of trading/purchasing electricity from the power grid is also reduced. The self-generated electricity will cover most of the plant’s internal electricity consumption.

Along with the currently growing costs of purchased electricity from the power grid, it is becoming more and more profitable to generate own electricity for medium and small sized heating plants. Emmaboda Energi AB decided to modernize its heating plant according to plan to start the ORC turbine in spring 2022. In Sweden (at the time being) the 26th Againity ORC turbine is being built and interest in this technology is growing and expanding beyond the Nordic region.

“Warmer climates and more energy-efficient houses mean that we are selling less and less district heating. In order to maintain competitiveness in the market, we must take every opportunity to become more efficient. Producing electricity via the district heating’s excess capacity contributes to us being able to maintain a competitive price for our customers while at the same time making an effort for the environment. The investment is also in line with the assignment we received from our owner, the municipality, to produce electricity locally in the municipality”, said Thed Franzén, District Heating Manager at Emmaboda Energi.

The turbine will be delivered as a complete unit and will be connected with two pipe connections to the existing hot water boiler installation and with two pipe connections to the return line of the district heating network. The installed power of the generator will be 99.9 kW, which corresponds to the amount of electricity for about 280 single-family houses with solar panels. In total, during the year, the turbine will produce 484 MWh of electricity and save 436 tons of CO2 equivalent.

„At Againity we are delighted over the opportunity to deliver an ORC turbine to the heating plant in Emmaboda and thereby contribute with increased local and planned electricity production, said Kristina Pettersson, Sales and Process Engineer at Againity. With the increased electrification of society through the establishment of energy-intensive businesses, basic power, such as cogeneration, is becoming increasingly important in the energy system”

NPS New Power Sources Sp. z o.o. and Energika Sp. K. participated in the 2nd „Biomass and Alternative Fuels in Heating Industry” conference in Suwałki between the 27th-28th of September, 2021

It was a great experience to be able to meet so many professionals from the Polish industry. We were able to demonstrate the Scandinavian approach to biomass and how we can turn it into green energy using Againity’s ORC systems.

We received many interesting questions about the ORC turbine technology, what applications they can be used for and what is the structure of such an investment, which resulted in new projects in Poland!

General Director Zbigniew Szamałek from Energika and Stanisław Filipiak from NPS New Power Sources outlined directions for the development of district heating. They presented the new possibilities offered by the use of the Againity ORC system in a heating plant.

“This solution does not require any own investment. 50% of the investment can be co-financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, and the remaining 50% is a low-interest loan,” said Stanisław Filipiak, Technical Director, NPS New Power Sources Sp. zoo.

NPS/Energika attended the annual Heating Industry Spring Meeting in Zakopane, Poland, 12th-14th of July 2021

We are very happy that we had the opportunity to present the new technology in Poland.

The meeting in Zakopane raised many questions about the applications in which the Againity ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) system can be used.

The response was very positive. We are convinced that Swedish Againity ORC units will fill the gap that exists on the Polish market – i.e. ORC-based cogeneration in small power generation.

„It will also open up new possibilities for smaller heating plants to generate their own electricity and become a combined heat and power plant. Together with the company Energika Sp. K. we are ready to provide complete solutions from the modification of heating plants, construction of thermal waste treatment plants and industrial waste heat management” – says Stefan Tarnowski, Managing Director of NPS New Power Sources Sp. z o.o.

The fifth ORC turbine for Solör Bioenergy’s heating plants

Press release: 2021-05-14

Solör Bioenergy’s heating plant in Flen, Sweden

Solör Bioenergy was among the first heating companies to upgrade a heating plant to a combined heat and power plant when they installed the ORC turbine in Hörby in 2018. Since then, the heating plants in both Svenljunga and Vilhelmina have been supplemented with ORC turbines and this year two more heating plants, in Flen and in Tomelilla, will start producing their own electricity as part of Solör Bioenergy’s goals for increased energy efficiency.

In addition to significant savings in the heating plants’ energy costs, the ORC installations are in line with Solör Bioenergy’s goal to utilize forest resources and pave the way for a sustainable society with reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

“With the positive experiences we have from Againity’s ORC turbines in several of Solör’s heating plants, we now look forward to installg a turbine at our facility in Flen” says Jan Lindkvist at Solör Bioenergy.

“With the ORC turbine and the installation of electric filters in 2022, the plant will be well prepared for the coming years.”

The two new ORC turbines in Flen and in Tomelilla will each have an installed capacity of 100 kW of electricity. Together, the plants are estimated to produce 951 MWh of electricity per year, which corresponds to a saving of approximately 855 tonnes of CO2 equivalents when replacing European marginal electricity.

Since the majority of the electricity produced will be used internally at the heating plants, the investment also generates large financial savings through reduced costs of purchased electricity, grid tariffs and energy tax.

„We are happy and honoured to again get the opportunity to work with Solör and together continue with upgrading theirheating plants to combined heat and power plants,” says Elin Ledskog, Head of Sales at Againity AB. „With the last months’ increased electricity prices and lack of power in southern Sweden we are happy to be part of the solution and through on-site electricity production reduce operating costs at the heating plantand achieve a more competitive district heating.”

Solör Bioenergy Group is a leading player in renewable energy based on biomass fuels with over 218,000 users every day. The company is located at 165 locations, primarily in Sweden and Norway, where they produce and distribute district heating, steam and electricity to households, companies, public enterprises and industries.

The business also includes energy recovery of impregnated wood and production of biofuel. By making use of forest resources, Solör wants to pave the way for a sustainable society with reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Againity AB has patented and manufactured ORC turbines in Norrköping since 2013. The company has now sold 24 ORC turbines, the majority of which have been installed on hot water boilers at heating plants in the Nordic countries. The technology behind the ORC system is based on a patented turbine that is powered by an organic refrigerant, which means that the system can produce electricity from heat down to 90 degrees Celsius. Thanks to the innovative technology, low-value heat can thus be converted into electricity.