Largest biomass plant in the US nearing production
December 16, 2011
By The Augusta Chronicle
Dec. 16, 2011, Aiken, SC - The largest federally-owned biomass plant in the United States is entering final testing, and could begin production as early as mid-January 2012.
Dec. 16, 2011, Aiken, SC – The largest federally-owned biomass plant in
the United States is entering final testing, and could begin production
as early as mid-January 2012.
The Augusta Chronicle reports that the Savannah River Site plant is run by Ameresco and aims to convert local wood chips and shredded tires into 20 megawatts of power as early as January 10th.
“We’ve been burning some fuel since September and undergoing a series of
performance tests and final checkouts of the system,” said Nicole
Bulgarino, an engineer and implementation director for Tennessee-based
Ameresco, which has a 20-year, $795 million contract to build and
operate the plant.
One of the largest benefits for the new plant will be the closing of an aging coal-fired plant in the site's D area, which will be retired once the biomass plant reaches full operations. The coal plant currents emits 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide fumes, 400 tons of particulate
pollution and 3,500 tons of sulfur dioxide per year, according to the Department Of Energy.
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