SPER – Biomass Power Plant

The plant, designed by IG O&M S.p.A., is located a few km from Enna (Sicily) in the industrial area of Dittaino.

The plant capacity is equal to 18.7 MWe corresponding to approximately 60 MWt. The efficiency of the plant is 27% due to an effective heat recovery.

The plant requires a supply of wood chips equal to approximately 167,000 tons per year. The wood chips are loaded into the combustor via a conveyor belt controlled remotely from the control room. The steam generator consists of a “fluidized bed” boiler and tube bundles for the production of superheated steam at 61 barg and 485 ° C.

The steam produced feeds a GE-Thermodyn axial turbine coupled to a 20 MW to 6 kV electric generator; the steam cycle ends by passing through an air condenser, through the degasser, through heat exchangers and finally into the hot well, all pushed by the boiler feeding pumps.

The flue gas exhaust and treatment system consists of a multi-cyclone, a lime and activated carbon reactor, a bag filter, a catalytic DeNox reactor, a Ljungstrom-type regenerative heat recovery unit and finally a washing column with sodium solution. The release into the atmosphere of the flue gases, purified and continuously monitored automatically, occurs through a chimney 40 m high.

Finally an electrical substation transforms the voltage energy from 6 to 150 kV which is then fed into the national high voltage electricity grid, through a cable duct connecting to Terna’s HV station.

Service buildings, warehouses, offices, workshop, road works and environmental mitigation are included in the project.

Client: RWE                Plant starting date: 2013