Last Friday, the topping-out ceremony for the new Witzenhausen RDF power plant was held. The RDF power plant will make the plant self-sufficient in electricity and steam and today’s gas power station can be replaced.
Hessian minister Wilhelm Dietzel participated in the topping-out ceremony in Witzenhausen.
In Witzenhausen, Germany, SCA produces containerboard, the paper in its packaging. In cooperation with an external partner SCA is building a RDF (refused derived fuels) power plant.
“With the decision to replace the existing gas power station by a modern energy-recycling plant based on refused derived fuels, the SCA group has not only underlined its economic efficiency, thereby exerting a decisive, positive influence on the future of the location, but has also made a notable contribution towards protection of the climate and our resources,” said Wilhelm Dietzel, Hessian minister for the environment, rural regions and consumer protection.
After a one-year construction period, the completion of this power station at a cost of € 127 million represents a major milestone.
The RDF power plant produces some 80 MW of steam and thereby generating 14.5 MW. Production quantities exceeding this level will be taken up by the Witzenhausen municipal utility (Stadtwerke). The heat-and-energy utilization of the substitute-fuel power station meets the specifications of the European Commission for an energy-recycling plant with an exemplary energy efficiency rate of over 90%.
The future schedule sees the initials “cold runs” taking place in the first quarter of 2008, with the use of RDF scheduled as from the summer of 2008. The 265 000 tonnes of RDF required will come partly from the paper mill although most of the fuel will be derived from communally run plants.