NRG looks at Louisiana biomass
NRG Energy has begun a pilot-scale biomass growing project at its Big Cajun II electrical generation site in Louisiana, US, that could result in commercial-scale biomass use by the company.
A 20-acre plot was seeded with switchgrass and high-biomass sorghum at the recommendation of Ceres a developer and marketer of high-yield energy grasses. The choices were made after careful consideration of the environment, climate and soil types in the area.
In phase one of the project, NRG will evaluate how well the crops grow, followed by a second phase, scheduled to begin in 2010, where the biomass will be used in the Big Cajun II boilers. The company will determine if it is effective and in phase three will decide if and how to expand. ]
The growing phase could continue through phases two and three, as the company might expand the project to more types of crops, depending on the success of the switchgrass and sorghum.
An expected biomass yield for the planted crops has not been determined, as the plot is relatively small, and phase one is not intended for high outputs.
‘It’s not designed to give yield for burning,’ Dave Knox, communications director for the company, says. ‘It’s designed to give yield for evaluating.’
A 20-acre plot was seeded with switchgrass and high-biomass sorghum at the recommendation of Ceres a developer and marketer of high-yield energy grasses. The choices were made after careful consideration of the environment, climate and soil types in the area.
In phase one of the project, NRG will evaluate how well the crops grow, followed by a second phase, scheduled to begin in 2010, where the biomass will be used in the Big Cajun II boilers. The company will determine if it is effective and in phase three will decide if and how to expand. ]
The growing phase could continue through phases two and three, as the company might expand the project to more types of crops, depending on the success of the switchgrass and sorghum.
An expected biomass yield for the planted crops has not been determined, as the plot is relatively small, and phase one is not intended for high outputs.
‘It’s not designed to give yield for burning,’ Dave Knox, communications director for the company, says. ‘It’s designed to give yield for evaluating.’
Loading ...
