New wood-fired power plant for 70,000 tons of waste wood
A new wood-fired power plant recently went into operation right next to the premises of Schweizer Zucker AG in Aarberg. It is to thermally utilize 70,000 tons of waste wood per year.
In the fall of 2020 passed the HKW Aarberg AGwhich was founded in 2017 by three partners (see box), reached an important milestone: At the end of November, the first fire was lit in the kiln of the wood-fired power plant in Aarberg. After a successful commissioning, which - as is usual for plants of this size - took several months, those responsible were able to ceremonially open the plant on September 17, 2021.
Energy-friendly sugar production
The Aarberg wood-fired power plant is a lighthouse project in Switzerland from both a technical and an ecological point of view, as the operators emphasize. Around 450,000 tons of waste wood are exported here every year. Of this, 70,000 tons of waste wood of all categories will be thermally and CO2-neutrally recycled in Aarberg in the future. The energy generated will be used in the form of process steam, hot water and electricity, among other things to process sugar beet at the neighboring Aarberg sugar factory. As a result, Schweizer Zucker AG will save more than 16,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year in the future, producing the most sustainable sugar in Europe. In addition, the potential of the wood-fired power plant has not yet been exhausted. For example, a district heating connection could supply numerous households in Aarberg with heating energy in the future, thus saving even more CO2.
Source: HKW Aarberg AG
Partnership
With Terra Nova GmbH, AG für Abfallverwertung AVAG and Schweizer Zucker AG, three companies have joined forces, each contributing its own specific know-how to the wood-fired power plant project. The combination of the project partners is particularly impressive with regard to the value chain of the wood-fired power plant: while Terra Nova is responsible for the procurement of waste wood - the fuel for the plant - Abfallverwertung AVAG contributes to the project with its many years of experience in the field of plant management. Schweizer Zucker AG, as the energy buyer for the wood-fired power plant, is the final link in the process chain. All three companies have an equal share in Holzkraftwerk Aarberg AG, according to the media release.
