Portugal to build 15 MW biomass plant by 2019
The Portuguese municipality of Viseu has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of a 15-MW forest biomass plant.
The Biomass Centre of Viseu will be in charge of the project. Overall, the new plant requires investments of EUR 52 million (USD 59.3m) to come thorugh the municipal programme “VISEU INVESTE”.
Located in the parish of Mundao, the new biomass plant, which is scheduled to commence operations by March 2019, will cover an area of 10 hectares and meet the power demand of over 40,000 local homes, the local government said.
With an 140,000-tonnes annual forest waste requirement, the biomass plant will operate 24 hours a day, with a one-month stop for the required annual maintenance.
The project is a part of the Marguerite Fund, which involves the financing, design, construction and operation of two separate 15MWA biomass plants located near Viseu and Fundão. The projects have commenced construction and are scheduled to be fully operational in the first half of 2019. Elecnor is the EPC contractor for both plants. Operation and maintenance will be carried out by a joint venture between Gestamp Biomass and FPT. The latter will also perform biomass management services.
It is expected that the two plants will create over 50 new jobs and contribute indirectly to an additional 300 jobs throughout the biomass chain. The plants should also help to reduce the risk of forest fires, a recurring problem in Portugal.
William Pierson, Managing Director of Marguerite Adviser S.A. said:
“This project is our first investment in the biomass sector and our first in Portugal. In addition, we are very happy to team up with our local partner FPT who already have existing biomass operations”.