Hundreds of redundancies at MGT Power: Unite

: Biomass
19/08/08

UK union Unite has questioned hundreds of "surprise" redundancies at MGT Power's 299MW dedicated biomass combined heat and power (CHP)plant, currently under construction in Teesside, northeast England.

"The job losses came as a major surprise as there is 18 months' worth of work left to complete on the project," Unite said. "The redundancies have led to fears that the entire site could be mothballed," the union added.

A total of 800 redundancies have been made in the past month "and further job losses are expected", Unite said. The site currently has a "skeleton workforce" of around 350 workers.

The UK government's Low Carbon Contracts Company's contracts for difference (CfD) register shows an expected generation start date of 31 March 2020 for MGT, from its latest update on 1 August. MGT was awarded a 15-year CfD subsidy with an inflation-linked strike price of £125/MWh in 2014.

There were several reported strikes at the construction site earlier this year, but MGT confirmed to Argus on 12 June that construction was back under way.

MGT is the world's largest newbuild dedicated biomass plant. It will consume 1mn t/yr of wood pellets when running at full capacity, all of which will be supplied by US wood pellet producer Enviva.

Construction is managed by Spanish engineering and construction company Tecnicas Reunidas and engineering firm Atlantic Projects Company.

Finnish utility Fortum has signed a 10-year contract to operate and maintain the CHP once construction is complete.

MGT Power has been contacted for comment.

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24/12/16

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EU affirms 12-month deforestation delay

24/12/03

EU affirms 12-month deforestation delay

Brussels, 3 December (Argus) — Negotiators for the European Parliament and EU member states have provisionally agreed on delaying the implementation of the EU's 2023 deforestation regulation by one year. Fast-track adoption can now take place with a plenary vote expected on 16-19 December and later approval by EU ministers. The EU's council of ministers noted that the provisional agreement does not affect the substance of the existing deforestation rules. The final text, provisionally agreed, does not retain a "no risk" category, put forward by parliament's largest centre-right EPP party. Parliament had narrowly accepted the EPP proposal for the "no risk" category. Backing down on the amendment now allows the EU to proceed to EUDR adoption and publication in the bloc's official journal before the end of the year. Due diligence obligations set by the EU's 2023 deforestation regulation require operators and traders to ensure listed commodities and derived products, sold in or exported to the EU are "deforestation-free". Products include those made from cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee and rubber. The European Commission said it aims to finalise the country benchmarking system "as soon as possible but no later than 30 June 2025". And an information system where firms register due diligence statements will enter into operation on 4 December. Parliament's lead negotiator for the deforestation law, Christine Schneider, also pointed to a commitment by the commission to an "impact assessment and further simplification" for low risk countries or regions. "From 2028, countries practising sustainable forest management and showing no deforestation will have the opportunity to be exempted from unnecessary red tape," said Schneider, a member of the German centre-right EPP. The Centre-left S&D group said the system of "no risk" countries would have created an "unfair double standard", dividing EU member states into different risk categories. Negotiators firmly rejected this approach, the group said. "It was clear all along that their half-baked amendment proposals had no chance of success with the council and the commission," said Delara Burkhardt, German S&D negotiator for the deforestation law. Citing reasons of legal certainty, EU states quickly came out in favour of just a one year delay , agreeing with the commission's original proposal. Speaking to parliament on 3 December, the EU's director general for trade Sabine Weyand said robust commitments to halt deforestation in South America, as of 2030, and to ensure adherence to the Paris climate Agreement, are also "essential" elements of the EU's free trade agreement (FTA) with Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and now Bolivia. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Beccs 'interesting business model' for German biomass

24/11/29

Beccs 'interesting business model' for German biomass

Berlin, 29 November (Argus) — Costs for generating negative CO2 emissions through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (Beccs) technology in Germany are €103.43/t of CO2 on average for woody biomass, initial results of an unpublished study commissioned by the country's bioenergy association BBE suggests. The average cost of €103.43/t applies to 1t of liquid CO2, which meets food purity standards. This could be the foundation of an interesting future business model for biomass plants, if negative emissions are incorporated into the EU emissions trading system and gain traction as a counterbalance to Germany's residual "hard-to-abate" greenhouse gas emissions, BBE's wood energy consultant, Tim Pettenkofer, said this week. A 20.5MW biomass cogeneration plant could raise its revenues by about 13pc by investing in Beccs, study co-author Lennart Reese of Seeger Engineering suggested. The plant operator would go from annual power revenues of €5.5mn, assuming annual running hours of 8,000 and a power price of €125/MWh, to about €6.2mn, assuming a CO2 price of €120/t. The calculations assume an annuity of 10pc and take into account other factors such as lost earnings from the power volumes used to sequester and liquefy the CO2. Electricity for liquefaction is the biggest cost item of the Beccs process, with Seeger Engineering putting average costs at €28.75/t of CO2. The final study will also look into the costs for Beccs from biogas and bioethanol plants. Beccs costs in the solid biomass segment will be highest, as its tailpipe CO2 intensity is about 10-15pc, the CO2 not being a by-product of a production process and therefore necessitating additional investment in flue gas cooling and sequestration technology. The CO2 intensity for biomethane and bioethanol plants is about 25-45pc and 95pc, respectively. Germany's government estimates the country's residual and hard-to-abate emissions will stand at about 50mn t of CO2 equivalent by 2045. An earlier study by BBE estimated potential for 10.7mn t/yr of CO2 negative emissions from Beccs with existing bioenergy plants in Germany, or 12.9mn t/yr of CO2 based on expected future availability. By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Biomass could benefit from Trump’s presidency

24/11/29

Biomass could benefit from Trump’s presidency

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Japan’s wood pellet, PKS imports rise in October

24/11/28

Japan’s wood pellet, PKS imports rise in October

Tokyo, 28 November (Argus) — Japan's wood pellet and palm kernel shells (PKS) imports rose on the year in October, the finance ministry data show. The country imported 692,000t of wood pellets in October, higher by 4pc on the month and by 37pc on the year, the data published on 28 November show. Vietnam remained the biggest supplier in October at 317,000t, followed by the US and Canada at 202,000t and 91,000t, respectively. Japan's PKS imports in October increased by 19pc on the year to 482,000t, but were lower by 8pc on the month. The biggest supplier was Indonesia at 320,000t, followed by Malaysia at 148,000t. Higher imports came against a backdrop of the start of several biomass-fired power plants in Japan. The country brought on line its 75MW Ichihara Yawatafuto plant in Chiba prefecture on 21 September, while the 50MW Hyuga plant in Miyazaki prefecture started commercial operations on 16 October. But Ichihara Yawatafuto stopped operations from 22 October to 5 November because of a fire. The country plans to restart its 75MW Tokushima Tsuda biomass-fired power plant, which has been halted since late September for facility renovations, after the completion of its maintenance in late December. Separately, the 20MW Tosa has been shut for an indefinite period because of aging facilities. By Takeshi Maeda Japan's imports from key countries ('000t) Oct-24 Sep-24 Oct-23 m-o-m ± % y-o-y ± % Wood Pellet Canada 91 105 144 -14 -37 Thailand 11 0 0 - - Indonesia 45 32 0 41 - Vietnam 317 345 178 -8 78 Malaysia 24 35 35 -33 -32 US 202 148 148 37 37 Russia 2 0 0 - - Total 692 665 505 4 37 PKS Indonesia 320 420 337 -24 -5 Malaysia 148 88 64 69 133 Sri Lanka 3 4 3 -20 21 Thailand 10 11 0 -6 - Total 482 523 403 -8 19 Source: Finance ministry Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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