Power and Heat from Wood and Lemons
Generating energy from renewable resources has both economic and environmental benefits. Not only does it help reduce the dependence on raw materials; it does so without contributing to the greenhouse effect, since no additional carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted into the atmosphere. To take advantage of these benefits, Siemens is now constructing Europe's largest forest biomass power plant for the Wien Energie utility company in Vienna, says a press release. The plant will consume up to 200,000 tons of forest biomass a year.
The small power plant will have an output of 24.5 megawatts, which is sufficient to supply electricity to almost 50,000 Viennese households.
The facility functions like a conventional steam power plant in that the biomass is combusted to heat the water in a boiler. The resulting steam is used to drive a turbine that generates electricity with the help of a generator. Since plants absorb about as much CO2 during growth as they emit when being burned, the generation of power from biomass is largely CO2-neutral.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Another type of biomass is used by the Malchin power plant in East Germany, which was also constructed by Siemens: This plant is partially powered by lemon peel from a neighboring gelling agent factory.
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