The Spanish company, Ence Energía y Celulosa, has started the last testing phase of all the equipment for its 46 MW biomass plant built in Huelva. The testing phase is the last of all preparations before its start-up at the end of 2019.
The line and the main transformer that joins the new installation with the high voltage park are energized in order to be able to connect the plant to the general electrical network.
The Ence project begins, thus, the phase prior to the definitive start-up, after obtaining the Act of Provisional Commissioning to test all the equipment of the new plant, including the biomass boiler and steam turbine; some operations that will be developed over the next months.
Thus, after energizing the line, the next step will be to start the new boiler with biomass and, with the steam produced, feed and synchronize the turbine that gives the plant an export capacity to the network of 299,000 MWh, sufficient for the electrical consumption needs of more than 55,700 people.
The main objective of this last stage of the project is to verify, not only the main equipment but also the auxiliary facilities such as compressed air systems, cooling towers, and electrical and instrumentation systems, among others. It is, therefore, a phase that will last for several months, depending on the evolution and results of the different operations that must be carried out.
For its operation, the plant will consume agricultural biomass and residual forest from the agricultural crops of the surroundings and the Huelva mountain. In this way, it will help reduce uncontrolled burning in the field and will help reduce the risk of forest fires, among other social and environmental benefits.
