Wood pellet district heating on contract basis

Town council reconsiders options after rise in fuel costs

In 2001, the farmers cooperative of Creglingen, Germany, tasked us with an outline plan for a woodchip district heating project. We came up with a promising solution during the first visit to the site. This was subsequently turned into a formal offer. However, the economic advantage during a time of modest fuel prices was too small to allow the project to go ahead.

Following a rise in fuel prices during the spring of 2005, the town of Creglingen revisited the concept of biomass heating. On the basis of a Europe-wide tender, we were engaged to develop an energy-services solution for heating three schools, a multi-purpose hall and a sports hall. Based on a cost comparison for wood chip and wood pellet installations at the time, we designed a district heating solution based on wood pellets.

A boiler house with two pellet boilers of 320kW each has been in operation since December 2005. These boilers supply 95% of the heat required during the year. At peak times, they are supplemented by a 350kW oil-fired boiler.

The entire project was financed by an energy services company. The energy is metered and the company is responsible for the successful performance of the heating system. This is a very cost-effective solution for the town of Creglingen. Furthermore, 85,000 litres of fossil fuels are saved by this solution every year.

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