45 MW WOOD WASTE TO ENERGY DBO CONTRACT FOR B&W VØLUND JV IN ROTHERHAM, UK

A joint venture between Danish waste to energy equipment manufacturer, Babcock & Wilcox Vølund – a subsidiary of Charlotte, North Carolina based energy generation equipment supplier, The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) (NYSE: BWC) and Interserve, has been awarded contracts totalling more than $220 million to design, manufacture and operate a 45 MW wood waste to energy plant in Rotherham, UK

B&W Vølund’s consortium partner, Interserve Strategic Projects, will construct the plant for the developer, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

The Rotherham Biomass Plant will feature a B&W Vølund-designed multi-fuel boiler with a DynaGrate® fuel combustion system, a dry flue gas desulfurisation system (dry FGD) and will burn waste wood.

The contracts also call for B&W Vølund to provide operations and maintenance services for an initial term of 15 years once the plant is commissioned.

Interserve explained that its JV with B&W Vølund was awarded the £150 million ($220 million) contract by the Brite Partnership North East to build a biomass-fired power plant in Rotherham.

“The waste sector is a key growth area for Interserve. We recognise that projects of this type are highly technical and challenging, requiring key expertise to construct, operate and maintain. This is why we have formed a strategic partnership with Babcock & Wilcox Vølund who will operate and maintain the Brite plant from 2017,” explained Andy Jarman, commercial director at Interserve.

Work on the Brite plant is expected to start in the coming weeks, with the facility expected to be fully operational in the second quarter of 2017.

Interserve added that its portion of the project, which received £150 million of investment from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is worth circa £50 million.

The Biomass wood waste fuel used in the facility will be sourced on a long-term contract from Stobart Biomass Group.

Paul Scavuzzo, B&W senior vice president and general manager, Global Power Division added: “The market for biomass power and waste to energy technologies in Europe continues to be strong, and B&W is well-positioned to meet the demand for reliable, clean energy solutions.

“This is B&W’s fourth major renewable energy project announced in the European market in the last seven months,” he continued.

The project was booked in the first quarter of 2015 and B&W Vølund has received a full notice to proceed with its work. Plant completion is scheduled for third quarter of 2017.