European Bio-Energy Projects

DEPR-Project Challenges
Objectives
The objective of the DEPR project is to
design, develop and monitor the operation
of a commercially viable, fluid-bed
combustion plant. This will be capable of
burning 350,000 t.p.a. of Dutch poultry
litter, whilst complying with the following
stringent air emission standards:
(10mg/Nm3 for total dust, 150mg/Nm3 for NOx and 100mg/Nm3 for SO2, dry flue
gas with 6% O2).
The plant is to be built at Moerdijk in the
Netherlands, and must operate efficiently
and reliably for at least 7,500 hours per
annum, generating at least 225,000 MWh
p.a. of ‘green’ electricity. If this is
achieved, the plant will represent a
sustainable solution to the long-term
problem of poultry litter disposal, by
converting a difficult agricultural waste
into renewable power. The valuable
phosphate and potash content of the
poultry litter will be recovered as a dry
powdered ash, capable for use as an
organic fertiliser feedstock.
It is expected that the DEPR plant will
avoid the production of around 80,000 t
of CO2 equivalent per annum.
Sustainable power from
Dutch poultry litter
To achieve the overall aim of the project, we have
had to balance the financial risk limitations of the
project sponsor with the technical risk perceived
by the ‘Turnkey’ contractor, who is required to
build a plant which is three times bigger than
any similar facility currently operating worldwide.
In addition, we have had to provide comfort to
financial investors that the project will not only
achieve its performance requirements at handover,
but will be capable of doing so for its
projected life of 20 years.
The vast majority of the income to this scheme
will result from the sale of electrical power.
Over the last 18 months, the Dutch green
power market has been in a state of turmoil,
following radical changes in government
support mechanisms, combined with two
national elections.
The plant will consume about 25% of the national
poultry waste produced in the Netherlands.
It has had to be demonstrated that this could
be procured and delivered on a ‘just in time’,
long-term basis, for a known cost. This task
has been further compounded by the recent
outbreak of Newcastle’s disease within the
Netherlands, which has restricted the free
transport of fuel and caused bankruptcy amongst
potential fuel suppliers.
30
Project structure
The project has been developed by a consortium
of participants comprised of an energy company
from the Netherlands (Essent Milieu), an
engineering company from the UK (EPR), a
foundation representing the Dutch poultry
farmers (DEP), and a Dutch special purpose
development company (DEPR).
It is possible that the selected ‘Turnkey’
contractor will also join the consortium at a
later stage.
The development of the project is divided
into three work packages. The first phase
encompasses the basic engineering, permitting,
production of tender documents and contract
negotiations. The second phase covers awarding
contracts and plant construction. The final phase
commences on plant commissioning and covers
monitoring and information dissemination during
the early phase of operations.
The main responsibilities are as follows:
Energy Power Resources has coordinated
the internal communication and financial
administration of the project team.
Essent assisted with the co-ordination and
communicated with its related companies with
regards to the purchase of land, integration of
cooling water, electrical grid connections and
gas supply.
DEP was responsible for the fuel supply contracts
with over 450 producers. It also played a major role
in negotiating the ash off-take arrangements.
DEPR was responsible for obtaining the
necessary permits and providing project
management during the basic engineering phase.
It will be responsible for managing the ‘Turnkey’
contractor during construction, with particular
emphasis on quality and ensuring a smooth
transition between the project phases.