Orsted power plant completes journey from coal to gas to biomass 
Danish power company Orsted, formerly known as Dong Energy, has converted an old power station from processing gas to burning biofuels. The Skaerbaek Power Station was coal-fired when it opened in 1951, before converting to gas in 1997. The latest conversion, which took three years and cost $281m, sees it now using sustainable wood chips and generating heat for 60,000 homes in the region. A spokesman for the company said the switch reduces the plant's carbon emissions by around 250,000 tonnes.
Danish utility Dong Energy A/S (CPH:DENERG) this week inaugurated the ​Skaerbaek Power Station near Fredericia after its conversion to using biomass as fuel.

The process to convert the facility to using sustainable wood chips instead of gas took more than three years to complete and a total investment of about DKK 1.8 billion (USD 281m/EUR 242m). The plant now produces enough district heating to meet the annual consumption of some 60,000 homes in the Triangle Region.

Skaerbaek was built in 1951 and used coal as fuel until 1997, when it was converted to gas.

"By switching to sustainable wood chips, we're reducing Skaerbaek Power Station's annual carbon emissions by about 250,000 tonnes. This is equivalent to the annual carbon emissions from more than 125,000 cars," said Thomas Dalsgaard, Executive Vice President and CEO of Bioenergy & Thermal Power at Dong Energy.

The company has set a goal to cease using coal at its power stations entirely by 2023.

(DKK 1.0 = USD 0.156/EUR 0.134)

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