In 1994-1995 a wood-fired heating plant was built for warm water production and heating of the site of the Military Training and Educational Centre in Szentendre. Two biomass boilers (together 9 MW installed capacity) produce enough energy to supply the residential establishment, the kitchens and the swimming pool for 4 000 people with heat energy. Some residual energy is also supplied to a nearby municipality building. In 2004 a steam turbine-electric generator system was added to the boilers and this improved the efficiency of the power plant. Annually 4-6 GWh electricity is produced which completely satisfies the needs of the site, a considerable surplus can even be supplied to the national electricity grid.
The owner of the power plant is the Budapester Forestry Plc.; the operator is the Biohő (Boheat) Energetikai Fejlesztő Ltd. The Forestry company supplies the wood chips needed, if the operator is not able to procure the wood chips at a lower price. This agreed “safety price” ensures the viability of the investment in the long term.

TECHNOLOGY

The output of the boilers working with a Kohlbach type combustion chamber is 4 and 5 MW, the maximum electric output of the steam turbines amounts to 1.3 MW. The quantity of heat produced can be modified within 15 minutes. Annually 80tnd GJ heat and 4-6 GWh electricity are produced in the small power plant. Due to the multi-parameter controls, the efficiency of the boilers is high, though because of the small size of the steam turbines the electric efficiency only amounts to about 20%. In winter 90% of the annual heat demand is used thus at this time of the year the power plant works with full cogeneration and reaches an efficiency of 90%. In summer only 10% of the produced heat energy is needed, so the efficiency drops to 30%.
The boilers burn wood chips as well as timber residues and bark with lower calorific value which could not be used for other purposes. These raw materials enter the boilers without any pre-treatment. The amount of timber – which originates from different areas of the country – used annually amounts to 24 000 tonnes. The storage capacity suffices for 3 weeks.

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ECONOMIC ASPECTS

The brown field investment was realized in two phases in one of the barracks’ buildings. Out of the total investment cost of EUR 3M (HUF 1.5 billion), EUR 92 000 was granted by the Ministry of Environment and Water. Additionally the Biohő Energetikai Fejlesztő Ltd. received a bank loan of EUR 1M with favourable conditions.
Nearly 90% of the electricity produced is fed into the national grid, which is procured as green electricity by the network operator. The grid-integration cost EUR 212 000.
The payback period for the whole investment is estimated at 6.5 years. With proper maintenance and expertise the equipment can be kept in operation for a long time, which is proven by the fact that so far the system has worked without disruption. Maintenance costs account for 5%, while the costs for the biomass fuel amount to 2/3 of the revenues.

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SOCIAL EFFECTS

The main social effect of the investment is the employment of 22 people in the project. Their main tasks include ensuring the wood chips supply, operating the boilers and turbines and administration.
The results of the investment were presented at a press conference and several delegations from both Hungary and abroad visited the site. The website of the operating company is under construction www.bioho.hu.

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ENVIROMENTAL EFFECTS

Due to the fuel shift from natural gas to biomass an annual amount of 6 500 000 m³ fossil fuel could be substituted. Green heat and green electricity are produced, which leads to a significant amount of GHG emissions reduction.

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DIFFICULTIES, PROBLEMS

The main problem is to secure an adequately-sized storage capacity. This should take in raw materials for
2 months instead of the current 3 weeks. At present this seems unrealistic as on the storage site used earlier the municipality has built a bicycle road and no other site seems available nearby.
The other problem occurred during the connection to the grid. Under the current conditions set by the network operator the connection cost the operator EUR 212 000.

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FOLLOW UP

Negotiations have been launched with a nearby block of flats to supply them with warm water. If the extension of the project succeeds, the residents of the 200 flats involved could receive their warm water at a 20% lower price. 1 MW of the power plant would be needed for these flats, which could significantly increase the efficiency of the heating system of the military site in summer.

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FURTHER INFORMATION

Biohő-Energetikai Fejlesztő Ltd.
Pannónia u. 26
2000 Szentendre
Hungary

Contact: Kéri László - director
Tel: +36 20 944 3083
E-mail: biohoee@biohoe.hu
Web: www.biohoe.hu

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