This month, Danish Stirling DK, a leading provider of energy systems, has commissioned the world's first four-engine biomass-powered Stirling plant at the wellness and spa resort Tabbs in Tabarz, Thuringia (Germany).
The plant is fuelled with fresh wood chips supplied from the local region and is capable of generating around 4,000 MWh of heat and 1,000 MWh of electricity annually – “the highest ever reached capacity for Stirling engine based power plants fuelled with biomass,” says the company.
The biomass-fuelled Sterling engines provide the municipally-owned wellness centre with the heat needed to run the facility, and additionally generate electricity which is mainly consumed onsite. The project was implemented as a joint partnership with the Siemens Building Technologies Division office in Leipzig, a local partner and Stirling.DK as equipment manufacturer.
"We are very proud to hand over this state-of-the-art combined heat and power plant (CHP) based on Stirling engines fuelled with biomass for this truly trend-setting application. The plant is a landmark achievement and represents a significant technological breakthrough within onsite renewable energy generation and will secure the spa a leading position with regard to sustainability," comments Dr. Lars Jagd, Stirling DK’s CEO.
The use of fresh wood chips and the size of the energy plant mean that the fuel can be sourced locally with minimal pre-treatment, reducing the total carbon impact of the plant, which is the second multiple-engine Stirling plant installed in Germany. Two additional four-engine plants are currently being installed in the UK by a local partner of Danish Sterling, where they will generate base-load heating, cooling and electricity for two retail centres.
Stirling DK describes itself as the “world's leading provider of biomass fuelled Stirling engine based energy systems”. Its majority shareholders are Vaekstfonden (Denmark) and RWE Innogy Ventures (Germany).
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