Cogeneration Project Near Beijing to Reduce Emissions While Producing Economic Benefits and Helping Reduce Sub-Urban Electricity Shortage
JENBACH, Austria--05 August 2008-- GE Energy's ecomaginationTM-certified Jenbacher gas engines will use biogas created from chicken manure to generate needed power and heat at a large chicken farm north of the China's capital city of Beijing. The plant is the first of its type in China and could pave the way for similar applications in the future.
The Beijing Deqingyuan Chicken Farm Waste Utilization plant comes as the country seeks innovative ways to meet its energy and environmental requirements. Providing 14,600 MWh of electricity per year, the project is designed to help reduce sub-urban electricity shortages.
By using the biogas for power generation in place of previously used coal-fired power, the new project is expected to reduce the equivalent of about 95,000 tons of CO2 per year, qualifying the project for the U.N.-sanctioned Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) program.
The Beijing Deqingyuan project is also reducing the farm's dust levels, further enhancing the area's air and water quality by controlling odors and improving the work environment for the farm's employees. The improvements support the guidelines of several Chinese government initiatives including the Underground Water Conservation Law, the New Rural Construction Plan and the Distributed Energy Solution Policy.
Located in YanQing District, about 50 kilometers north of Beijing, the farm owns three million chickens, producing 220 tons of manure and 170 tons of wastewater each day. The farm's new cogeneration system features an anaerobic digester system to treat the waste material, producing enough biogas to fuel two GE's Jenbacher JMS 320 GS-B.L gas engines. The plant has an installed electric capacity of more than 2 MW for use at the chicken farm. Additionally, the plant's thermal output is used to support the chicken waste fermentation process and also heat the chicken farm in the winter.
"This biogas project will quickly pay for itself by meeting the customer's demand for cost-effective electricity and heat," said Jack Wen, President and CEO of GE Energy China. "We estimate that the customer will save more than US$1.2 million a year in electricity costs alone."
The project further expands GE's overall presence in China, where the company has been active for more than 90 years. With about 1,300 Jenbacher biogas engines delivered worldwide, GE is providing a well-proven technology to support China's initiatives to expand the production of renewable energy, including from animal and agricultural waste biomass.
GE's agreement also includes spare parts and training for the cogeneration plant operators. The owner of the project is the Beijing Deqingyuan Agricultural Technology Co. Ltd. of Beijing. Other key participants in the chicken farm cogeneration project include GE's local distributor for Jenbacher gas engines, Jebsen & Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong; DI, Beijing Power System Design Institute; and Huadian Engineering of Beijing, the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.
About Jenbacher Gas Engines by GE Energy
GE Energy's Jenbacher gas engine business, based in Jenbach, Austria, is a leading manufacturer of gas-fueled reciprocating engines, packaged generator sets and cogeneration systems for power generation. Jenbacher engines cover an output range of 0.25 to 4 MW and operate on natural gas or a variety of specialty fuels, including flare gas and coal mine gas or alternative fuels like biogas, landfill gas, wood gas, sewage gas and industrial waste gas. Patented combustion systems coupled with advanced engine and plant management systems enable customers to meet stringent international emission standards while offering high levels of efficiency, durability and reliability.
About GE Energy
GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2007 revenue of $22 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels.
Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE's corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges. GE's Jenbacher biogas, landfill gas and coal mine methane engines have received ecomagination certification, underscoring the environmental and economic benefits offered from the utilization of generating energy from high methane content waste streams.
About GE
GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com. GE is Imagination at Work.
Tom Murnane
Soteryx Corporation
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Ken Darling
Masto Public Relations
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Martina Streiter
GE Gas Engines
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