The Worlds First Coal to Biomass Conversion Using Advanced Wood Pellets

摘要

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) ceased the use of coal as a fuel for electricity generation in 2014, making Ontario the first jurisdiction in North America to eliminate the use of coal in the power sector. Ontario Power Generation has been actively evaluating the use of biomass as a means to decarbonise the production from its coal fired assets for some time. In recent years, this focus has shifted to the testing of second generation wood pellets to prove the ability to employ these new fuels safely and effectively within an existing coal fired unit. OPG has recently-executed a project to convert Thunder Bay Unit 3 from coal to 100% biomass tiring using steam exploded wood pellets. In February 2015, this unit entered into service on the new fuel, making it the first such unit worldwide to employ thermally upgraded wood pellets. The unique properties of the steam exploded pellets enable the use of outdoor storage and handling, similar to the baseline coal firing case. The ability to store, handle, pulverize and combust the pellets with only minor modifications to the plant systems and procedures has enabled the use of a low capital cost project approach that is not possible with conversions that employ traditional white wood pellets. The conversion of Thunder Bay Unit 3 was executed with a capital cost of approximately $30/kW and has demonstrated the feasibility of this approach at full scale. Observations from the fuel evaluations, test burns and commissioning of this first-of-a-kind project are discussed.