Use of biomass to fuel a power station
Solvay and the energy engineering company Dalkia will co-produce both electricity (20-30 MW) and heat (50 tonnes/h of steam) by burning biomass waste in the Tavaux site in France.
The energy and stream will be used for our chemicals and plastics production, with surplus electricity fed into the public supply. The unit will consume 280,000 tonnes a year of biomass: 45% from agricultural and food-processing waste, 4% from the growth of dedicated species and 51% from fallen branches.
The biomass will be brought by train, or by lorry where distances less than 100 km are involved. The project will have a capital cost of EUR 60 million and create 50 jobs. It will result in setting up a full regional supply chain for biomass.
With regard to the environment, in addition to the CO2 emissions avoided, the project will help derive value from local energy resources and assist forest maintenance. The possibility of exploiting the combustion ash for soil enrichment is being studied.
