Biomass facility leads to powerhouse closure

May 24 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Anna Dolianitis Aiken Standard, S.C.


With the recent startup of the Biomass Cogeneration Facility to provide clean energy to the Savannah River Site, a coal-burning facility that powered the site for 60 years is now preparing for deactivation.

SRS' D-Area powerhouse, which was once capable of generating 75 million watts of power that could have provided electricity to the entire City of Aiken, will begin the shut down process and be completely closed in about two years, officials said this week.

"Recent startup of three new wood-chip burning (biomass) steam plants at SRS means we no longer need this facility, but I humbly thank the mechanics and operators whose skill, dedication, and creativity kept this facility operating for nearly 60 years,"" said Karen Guevara, Department of Energy Assistant manager for infrastructure and environmental stewardship at SRS.

In the late 1950s, nine powerhouses and steam plants were operating at SRS -- the 5-story D-Area facility being significantly larger than the others, with four large boilers requiring the withdrawal and return of appropriately 35 to 45 million gallons of water each day from the Savannah River.

The process to completely deactivate the facility will entail shutting down the boilers to eliminate the generation of power and steam and securing the facility in a safe condition until the deactivation process is complete, according to SRNS spokesperson DT Townsend.

The Biomass facility, a project completed through a private-public partnership with contractor Ameresco, is expected to result in $944 million in cost-savings to the site over 19 years.

The wood chips in the biomass facility will create 100 percent of the steam needed at SRS and 30 percent of the energy needed.

Shutting down the D-Area powerhouse would mean approximately 160,000 tons of coal purchased each year would no longer be necessary,\ and would result in an annual reduction of 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, SRNS president and CEO Dwayne Wilson said in a press release.

"We offer knowledge and expertise to make the future of our site and the country secure, energy independent and environmentally responsible," Wilson said. "The safe deactivation of this once vital support facility is another step in that direction."

Anna Dolianitis is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. She covers the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site, as well as court and legal matters affecting Aiken County. She has been with the Aiken Standard since August 2010.

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