Emerson to automate waste-to-energy plant

Emerson will provide control systems and project services for a new waste-to-energy power plant near Knaresborough Allerton, North Yorkshire, UK.

The plant, which will also incorporate biogas and recycling facilities, will produce 28 MWh of electricity per hour from 320,000 tonnes of waste, exporting enough energy to the national grid to power the equivalent of 40,000 homes and helping the UK to meet the EU Renewable Energy Directive 2020 targets for renewable energy.

The facility will also divert more than 7 million tonnes of waste from landfill over its 25-year lifetime and recover more 1.5 million tonnes of recyclable materials.

The plant will be operated by infrastructure support service provider Amey on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council and the City of York Council. Emerson was chosen for the project by VINCI Environment UK, a subsidiary of VINCI Environnement (France), which is designing, building and commissioning the project.

“Allerton Waste Recovery Park is an exciting new facility which will bring together state-of-the-art technologies to make the most of North Yorkshire’s and the City of York’s waste,” said Peter Turba, project director – Vinci Environnement (France). “Emerson’s expertise and track record in waste-to-energy automation projects makes it the perfect choice for this plant.”

To minimise project costs and schedule risk, Emerson’s project services team will work with VINCI Environment UK personnel to provide the plant’s automation design, installation, commissioning, start-up and on-site operator training. Emerson’s Ovation distributed control system, which has been used in waste-to-energy facilities around the world, will monitor and control the plant’s boiler, flue gas treatment and balance-of-plant processes and equipment.

“We are delighted to provide automation technologies and services that will help this renewable energy project meet its objectives,” said Bob Yeager, president of Emerson Process Management’s Power & Water Solutions. “Emerson will not only provide advanced control systems to enable safe and efficient operation, but our project services will increase the certainty of the project’s success while helping ensure quality and reliability.”

Construction is expected to be completed in 2017, with the plant fully operational in 2018.

Originally published here.