The state of Maryland issued a Request for Proposal to solicit exportable electrical power using locally sourced poultry littler as the primary fuel. The overall goal was to promote the use of renewable energy and reduce agricultural runoff to Chesapeake Bay. POWER Engineers (POWER) was brought on to the project team by the selected development contractor to provide a preliminary level design and high level cost estimate for the feasibility study and technology investigation. POWER’s scope included:
• Preliminary engineering for boiler technology selection and sizing
• Selection of fuel handling equipment and logistics
• Providing an air emissions estimate
• Water quality and demand requirements
• Developing an engineering and construction cost estimate
POWER determined that to produce 20.4 MW of electricity and process steam, it would take roughly 60 truckloads of 100% poultry litter waste-per-day to run the plant. The bubbling fluidized bed boiler technology developed by ANDRITZ for biomass applications and fully automated fuel handling system would make this biomass plant the first-of-its-kind in the United States. POWER’s team was able to reach out into new and different areas of technology and take a new approach to biomass facility design.
