Technology

The parabolic troughs comprising the solar field of the Les Borges Blanques solar thermal electric plant in the province of Lleida have been installed, and the forecast is that the biomass component of the plant will be completed in the summer and will undergo testing until the end of 2012. This is the latest update released by Abantia and Comsa Emte, the two companies building the first hybrid biomass-solar thermal electric facility in Spain.

“Pellets Asturias has successfully passed the documentation audit and obtained an A-1 ENplus quality certificate in the chemical analyses”. With these words, the Spanish Association of Biomass Energy Recovery (Avebiom), the agency officially authorised to issue pellet certifications under this system in Spain, confirmed the awarding of the first quality certificate to the company based in Tineo. The association reveals that a further 19 companies have expressed an interest in obtaining this certification.

Earlier this year, the University of Almeria released the findings of research confirming the potential of using certain greenhouse crop waste to produce energy. At the end of September, the company Morgan Aqua began supplying biomass made from courgette, melon and other vegetable waste to energy producers and distributors.

The Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, through the Directorate General for Sustainable Rural Development has approved a regional cooperation project to introduce sustainable uses for biomass. The project involves groups from Valencia, Aragon and Castilla La Mancha

According to the 2010 Electricity System Report published by Red Eléctrica de España (REE), electricity output from biogas and biomass increased from 2,850 GWh in 2009 to 3,119 GWh in 2010. This growth rate, 9.4%, is similar to in other years, but very unequal compared to other renewable technologies. Andalusia is the leading self-governing region in terms of both installed capacity and output.

The Enercoop Group and the University of Alicante (UA) have signed a patent license to launch the first industrial plant for the manufacture of briquettes from agricultural waste obtained from the cultivation of almonds. The agreement gives a boost to the many years of work of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the UA.

In addition to three ethanol plants (Torrevalega, Zamora and Poland) at various stages of development, the paper group Sniace has increased its bioenergy portfolio by participating in a consortium awarded wind farm concessions in Cantabria. In order to receive these concessions, winning bidders must also implement industrial and R&D and Innovation projects, which in the case of Sniace involves the creation of the Bioenergy Technology Centre.

A number of initiatives to build a biomass gasification plant using the waste from olive presses have been put forward in the past. However, the high moisture content of this waste made researchers look the other way. Despite this, last month the University of Jaén launched another gasification initiative in the olive groves of Jaén, in this case using clippings from olive trees as a feedstock.

Biomass torrefaction gives rise to a more stable product with a lower moisture content; ideal for co-combustion in coal-fired power plants, the production of second generation biofuels and the production of pellets. All these advantages were taken into account by the Lantec Group when deciding to build its first biomass torrefaction plant in Urnieta (Gipuzkoa).

Valeriano Ruiz, President of Spain’s Advanced Technology Centre for Renewable Energy (CTAER), recently announced that solar-biomass hybridisation was ideal for managing solar thermal electric plants. A few days later, CTAER announced it would invest €1.75 million in research into exactly this type of system.