Simec Atlantis Energy says it is on track to complete the conversion of its Uskmouth power station by 2021.
The energy firm has issued a contract tender for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of the full combustion system at the power plant as part of its conversion from coal to biomass firing.
The move follows completion of medium-scale tests in which a stable flame was achieved, proving the stable combustion of 100 per cent waste derived fuel pellets. Front end engineering design (FEED) tests and studies have also been completed, Simec said.
The £185 million project is the world’s first conversion of a power plant from coal to waste derived fuel. The completed 220 MW power plant is due online in 2021 and will use 900 000 tonnes per annum of fuel pellets derived from waste which might otherwise have been sent to landfill.
Among the project’s next steps are an industrial scale fuel production run and milling test. The contract for the combustion system will be awarded in the second half of 2019, after which industrial scale combustion tests will be carried out.
Simec will issue a contract tender for the remaining conversion works at Uskmouth, in Wales, in early 2020. Contractors WSP and RJM have completed a review of the plant life extension and return to service for all areas of the existing plant.
In June, N+P Group started commissioning a new pellet facility in Teesport, England, which is capable of supplying fuel to Uskmouth power station. Three further UK facilities are planned to supply fuel to the project.
Financial advisors are expected to be appointed in the third quarter of 2019.