BioPower concept - a direct response to the needs of Zwickau community

Valmet*) has constructed a modularized biomass power plant for combined heat and power production (CHP) to Heizkraftwerk Zwickau Süd GmbH & Co. KG in the municipality of Zwickau in Germany. The BioPower 5 plant is powered by forest residues and wood based landscaping material, and the core of the plant is the BioGrate combustion system. The plant produces 10 MWth of district heat for the Zwickau municipality area and 5 MWe of electricity for the public power grid.

“Through this investment, we will not only secure the production of district heat for our town but will also reduce our dependence on ever rising oil and gas prices. We are also very optimistic that the price paid for the district heat can be lowered from today’s level”, says Volker Schneider, Managing Director of ZEV GmbH.

The plant’s commercial viability is supported by the German Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG), a law that provides fixed feed-in tariffs for electricity produced from renewable sources and secures the payback period of the investment. The project has a significant impact on the local economy through the use of local labor and subcontractor network.

*) Metso until Dec 31, 2013