Engineering and technology group SENER has signed a contract with ENCE Energía y Celulosa to build a new low-emission biomass electricity generation plant in its energy complex in Huelva (Spain). The contract signed is a turnkey arrangement whereby SENER will design, supply, build and commission the plant, as well as operate and maintain it during the first years of operation.
The new facility will consist of an electricity generation plant using biomass from the forestry and farming industries. With a 40 MW gross nominal electricity output it will be one of the largest high-efficiency low-emission biomass renewable energy plants in Spain. The plant is projected to enter into operation in the third quarter of 2019.
The Huelva plant will be equipped with the best available technologies, similar to the Mérida biomass plant that SENER also developed successful as a turnkey project for ENCE.
Due to the variety of types of biomass to be used, the plant will be equipped with an advanced fuel handing system, both for incoming biomass and for its preparation and storage. The plant will also boast one of the best gas combustion and treatment systems, guaranteeing compliance with the demanding requirements of the new European standard, BREF (Best Available Techniques Reference), which establishes the best practices for the industry's Large Combustion Plants in Europe.
Hence, for this type of plant, SENER has designed a high-efficiency regenerative thermodynamic cycle with a built-in reheater in its furnace and a double-body turbine (high and low pressure), as well as multiple extractions. Also, the plant will be refrigerated using cooling towers. All of this will contribute to bringing the plant's gross output to over 35 %. SENER already applied this system at the Mérida biomass plant, which in its first year of commercial operation reached an equivalent availability of 8,025 hours of operation, exceeding the client's expectations.
Thanks to its innovative design, which brings together high efficiency and low emissions, ENCE's new 40 MW Huelva plant will become a benchmark among biomass electricity generation plants.
About SENER
SENER is a private engineering and technology business group founded in 1956. Its aim is to offer its clients the most advanced technological solutions and to achieve international recognition based on its independence and commitment to innovation and quality. SENER has almost 2,500 professionals across its centres in Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, Chile, China, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, the United States, India, Morocco, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom and South Africa. The group's operating revenue exceeded 910 million euros (2016 data).
SENER brings together its own Engineering and Construction activities with industrial holdings in companies working in the field of Aeronautics and Energy & Environment. In the field of Engineering and Construction, SENER has become a leading company worldwide in the fields of Aerospace; Infrastructure and Transport; Power, Renewable, Oil & Gas; and Marine.
On the premise of efficient energy use, SENER has always stood out as a pioneering company in the field of renewable energies through investment and development of own technologies in wide-ranging sectors such as concentrated solar power, biomass, treatment of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) or treatment of manure and oils. Along these lines, biomass electricity generation plants that use SENER technology are equipped with innovative solutions that optimise both efficiency and security.