Ameresco increases wood deliveries to wood- and tire-fueled, US$795M, 20MW cogeneration plant in South Carolina

Audrey Dixon

LOS ANGELES , February 23, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) –

Ameresco Inc. is ramping up operations at its Savannah River Site (SRS) biomass cogeneration plant with deliveries and stockpiling of woodchips and forest residue to the US$795 million government-owned facility, Charleston Business Journal reported February 2012.

Framingham, Massachusetts-based Ameresco, which holds a 20-year contract to build and operate the plant, will at first supply 10 megawatts of electricity from the 34-acre SRS site, and eventually 20 MW.

The biomass plant also burns shredded automobile tires in its fuel mix. The resulting power and heat are to be utilized on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) site, Charleston Business Journal reported.

Some time in February, 50 trucks a day were expected to deliver woodchips to the site where 800 truckloads are already stored, reported Charleston Business Journal.

Savannah River is the largest wood-burning biomass plant in South Carolina, said the DOE. The facility replaces aging coal-fired boilers and the renewable energy plant makes SRS the federal government's largest energy-efficiency project to date, according to the DOE, Charleston Business Journal reported.

The project is a partnership between Ameresco, DOE, SRS, South Carolina the Aiken community, said Ameresco’s Keith Derrington in a company release carried by Industry Intelligence Dec. 22.

The biomass plant will burn 325 tons/year of woodchips and forest residue, said the release.

The primary source of this article is Charleston Business Journal, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Feb. 2012.

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