• Exclusive Content
  • Events
  • Endeavor Business Media Energy
    1. Renewables

    Koehler CHP plant at German Paper Mill converting from Lignite Coal to Wood Biomass fuel

    Jan. 31, 2022
    The move will save 24,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually at the Greiz paper production plant. The on-site, dedicated power plant has a capacity of close to 17 MW
    Image credit Koehler Paper
    Koehler Paper Plant 61f7eddf2da7c

    The Koehler Group is converting its power plant at the paper site in Greiz, Germany from coal-fired to fine wood fraction fuel-fired generation, the company reported.

    Construction is under way and expected to be completed by May or early summer. The combined heat and power facility working to serve the paper plant has been using pulverized lignite coal as its fuel source.

    Subsidiary partners Koehler Renewable Energy has developed a technique allowing this type of fine wood biomass to be used within the existing coal-fired plant, according to reports. The switch is part of Koehler Group’s climate strategy to produce more energy from renewable resources above the paper production requirements by 2030.

    The move will save 24,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually at the Greiz paper production plant. The use of biomass over lignite also will reduce sulfur and other emissions, the company said.

    The biomass CHP plant is expected to be commissioned and operational later this year, according to reports.

    Koehler is reportedly spending about 6.5 million Euros ($7.3 million U.S.) on the coal-to-biomass conversion.

    The on-site, dedicated power plant has a capacity of close to 17 MW and was first built and operational in 2010, according to news reports.

    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

    Email