Wärtsilä can provide power plant solutions based on various liquid and gaseous fuels, as well as plants fuelled by biomass. The main products are plants fired with conventional fuels, such as heavy fuel oil and natural gas.
Flexibility is one of the principal features of Wärtsilä power plants, and can be evidenced in such factors as scope of delivery, fuel flexibility and operational flexibility. Fuel flexibility, because of the wider scope for optimizing energy production costs and emission levels, represents a lower level of risk for the customer. As an example, the tri-fuel solution based on the Wärtsilä® 50DF engine ensures high efficiency when using gas, light fuel oil, or heavy fuel oil, with the possibility to switch fuels without any interruption to electricity production. The plant is less susceptible to fuel supply and fluctuations in fuel costs, which improves its overall economic health, and strengthens the reliability of its electricity production.
Bio oil is expected to be an increasingly important source of energy during coming years. The policies of many countries stipulate an increase of bio fuels in their energy portfolios. Bio oils offer a number of advantages, such as low CO2 emissions and independence from the price fluctuations and varying availability associated with fossil fuels. Their use in power generation, assuming the principles of sustainable development are applied, can also benefit local communities.
The impact of bio oils on greenhouse gases is not always insignificant, especially when taking into consideration the impacts of their production and refining processes. Wärtsilä bio oil plants are usually based on non-refined bio oils, which are also normally the lowest in cost and hence the most economic choice for power plant owners. Bio-oil power plants also have low emission levels of traditional emission components. Only a marginal amount of sulphur dioxide is produced, owing to the fuel’s low sulphur content. Particulate emission levels depend on the ash content of the fuel, and by using low-ash bio-oil it is possible to meet strict European limits without the need for secondary emission control units. In Europe, NOx emissions are normally controlled in bio oil plants by using SCR.
BioPower plants use Wärtsilä’s patented BioGrate technology to run on various wood-based biomass fuels, such as bark, sawdust, and wood chips, which are typically generated as by-products from forest industry processes. The plants, which generate heat and electricity, can also use peat as a source of energy.
