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Reprinted with permission from
The Courier=Times Online
Person County has been selected as the site for the nation’s first commercial production facility for “green coal,” which could help utilities run their coal-fired power plants — like the ones Progress Energy has in this county — cleaner and with nearly as much power generation efficiency as from coal alone.
Integro Earth Fuels, an Asheville-based firm, announced Tuesday that it intends to build the facility on a tract of 44-plus acres just north of Roxboro, adjacent to Georgia Pacific Corp.’s plant here. It expects the plant to be in production by the third quarter of 2009.
The Integro plant, the first commercial facility of its kind in the United States, the company said, will produce “torrified biomass,” or “green coal,” which a company press release described as “an economical, carbon neutral feedstock for use in the production of heat, power, and bio-based fuels.”
Eastwood said that Shiloh Church Road is narrow, has sharp curves and is probably more dangerous than any of the other roads. He said that while he was not opposed to the BPB project, he and his neighbors are hopeful attention will be given that road as well, since it is on the prescribed truck route.
Biomass includes wood, forest materials and even biodegradable wastes that can be burned as fuel.
Integro’s Person County facility will subject biomass to a torrefaction process that will subject the biomass to heat ranging from 250-300 degrees C. (482-572 F.) to produce the resulting torrefied biomass, which can be combined at a 30 percent mixture with coal “while still maintaining 95 percent electricity production,” according to Integro. During the torrifaction process, the company said, biomass loses about 30 percent of its mass while retaining 90 percent of its original energy content, yielding a heating value comparable to coal.
Integro said it had found torrefied biomass to be “the ideal, cost-effective solution for coal-fired electric utilities striving to meet legislative standards calling for the reduction of CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions. It shares similar properties with coal, but without many of the contaminants.”
The combustion of coal is the largest single industrial source of carbon dioxide emissions, which is suspected of significantly contributing to global warming.
Additionally, the company said, “Torrefied biomass requires little or no capital expenditure and results in dramatic reduction in CO2 emissions.” It also lowers emission levels of other pollutants, thereby “reducing costs associated with their elimination,” it said.
Walt Dickinson, Integro president and CMO, said, “This is a solution for coal-fired utilities that can be utilized today. This green coal allows utilities to continue providing inexpensive electricity while addressing issues of global warming. The use of torrefied biomass eliminates the need for expensive plant upgrades. It is a win-win situation for the utilities, their consumers and the environment.”
Integro’s Person County facility will represent an investment of $12 million and will initially employ 20 people.
But the company indicated, and Glen Newsome, executive director of the Person County Economic Development Commission, confirmed via telephone Tuesday that Integro hopes to expand its facility in phases.
“Each subsequent phase of product development will employ additional Roxboro and Person County citizens and provide the community with additional capital investment,” the Integro press release said.
According to a post on integrofuels.com, the Person facility is being funded by Integro and private equity investors. It also states that the Person County site “is not only close to an abundant source of raw materials but also near the universities and power plants where the biomass will be transported.”
The Web site says the plant will operate 24 hours, seven days a week for 50 weeks, with two weeks of scheduled maintenance annually.
Raw material for the production of Integro’s green coal will be delivered to the Person plant by truck, but the end product will be shipped to Integro’s customers by rail, according to the Web site.
Commenting on the Integro plans, the EDC’s Newsome said Tuesday, “We are very pleased that Integro Fuels has selected our community as the host location for this new industrial facility. We feel that alternative fuels will be the next wave of job creation opportunities in the future and we commend the company for proceeding with this important project in the face of a less than certain economy. We look forward to continuing our work with Integro to bring this project to full fruition as it will make a significant contribution towards energy independence.
“Integro is an excellent company and will fit well within our existing industrial base,” Newsome said.
Integro expressed appreciation to both the Person EDC and the Person County Cooperative Extension Service for their assistance to the company in locating here.
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| Reprinted with permission from The Courier=Times Online.
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