Orsted has started work on improving the efficiency of the Herning heat and power bio plant in Denmark.
The Drk200m (€27m) investment will reduce consumption of wood chips and pellets by about 20%, while output of heat and power remains the same, the company said.
Work will include a new flue gas condensation unit that will use residual heat in the flue to make the plant more efficient.
A new building will be built to house the new machinery, with the job expected to be completed during the third quarter of next year.
Orsted has also signed a 15-year agreement with Eniig Varme, Energi Ikast Varme and Sunds Vand og Varme to provide district heating from Herning.
The plant was opened in 1982 as a coal-fired power station, before being converted to natural gas in 2000, and, since 2009, has run on biomass.
It has power capacity of 88MW and 171MJ/s of heat, Orsted said.
Orsted chief executive of bioenergy and thermal power Thomas Dalsgaard said: “It’s already a green power station running on sustainable biomass, and now we’ll be able to reduce the fuel consumption significantly, thus ensuring that the power station is a competitive alternative to fossil fuels.”
Image: Herning plant (Orsted)
Orsted bio boost breaks ground
By EBS