Diesel & Gas Developments

30 September 2004




Care homes adopt mini-CHP

see figure 1.

Two health and social services trusts in Northern Ireland have adopted mini-CHP technology as part of the Northern Ireland Electricity ‘SMART’ initiative, which supports sustainable energy alternatives. The DACHS units were supplied and commissioned by Baxi Technologies UK, and have been installed at residential care homes operated by Causeway Heath & Social Services Trust and Down Lisburn Health & Social Services Trust in Ballycastle and Lisburn respectively.

Producing between 10.4 and 12.5 kWth and generating between 5.3 kWe and 5.5 kWe, depending on the fuel type used, mini-CHP is well suited to many types of multi-tenanted accommodation where heating and hot water is provided from a centralised plant room, such as residential care homes, sheltered accommodation, and university accommodation. The NIE SMART initiative exists to encourage renewable and energy efficient methods of managing and developing the electricity network in Northern Ireland by providing financial support under a number of schemes.

National sales and marketing manager of Baxi Technologies UK, Yan Evans, said “these are the first two mini-CHP units to be installed in Northern Ireland ... the projects form an important cornerstone in our development of this sector of the market”.

John Brolly from Causeway Trust commented: “DACHS is most suitable for applications where there is a simultaneous need for heating and electricity over extended operating periods, typically 6000 hours per annum and above”. Robert Spence from Down Lisburn Trust commented "this type of residential home requires constant heating and electrical power and therefore the DACHS was the ideal choice." Down Lisburn Trust's CHP unit was installed by Phoenix Natural Gas.

The DACHS unit has been operating successfully across Europe for some years, first as supplied by Senertec and recently by Baxi. The figure for installed units is likely to rise to 10 000 by the end of 2004.

Made for methane

see figure 2.

Cummins Power Generation has produced a new ‘low–BTU’ series of generator sets specifically designed to run on the dilute methane gas mixture producer by landfills, sewage digesters or coal seam leakage. Known as the GQ series these gensets produce a continuous 1570 kW (at 50 Hz) or 1750 kW (50 and 60 Hz) running on landfill or digester gas of low calorific value, while producing very low levels of exhaust emissions. Multiple units can be paralleled for higher power production at larger landfill sites.

Powered by modified versions of the successful model QSV81 G 16–cylinder and OSV91G 18–cylinder natural gas reciprocating engines, the GQ series generator sets feature an enlarged fuel delivery system, double-safety gas shutoff valves, and special coatings and bearing materials to withstand the corrosive contaminants typical in landfill gas. Some pretreatment is required to remove particulate matter and excess water vapour from landfill gas. Any additional pretreatment is dependent on the quality of the gas at a particular site, and on project economics.

“Industry studies indicate that, globally, landfills represent an immense untapped energy resource” says Trevor Passmore, general manager of Cummins Energy Solutions division. “In North America alone, candidate landfills can produce enough methane gas to support a total generating capacity of approximately 1500 MW. Currently, much of this potential energy is being flared off or vented into the atmosphere. In addition, since methane gas has about 20 times the greenhouse effect of CO2 ... burning methane in a genset can reduce its environmental impact by a corresponding factor.”

A Cummins low-BTU generator at a landfill site in Shrewsbury, UK, has accumulated more than 5700 hours of operation. Future installations include a wastewater digester site in the Canary Islands later this year, and the Viridor Waste Management landfill near Edinburgh, UK. At Viridor, Cummins is developing a complete turnkey 3.5 MW power plant using two low-BTU generator sets running on methane from the landfill. The electricity produced at the site will be used to run a nearby cement works. An additional pair of low-BTU generators will be installed during the next two years to take advantage of the site's estimated 20-year supply of methane.

Turbo Genset retrench

Cummins Power Generation has produced a new ‘low–BTU’ series of generator sets specifically designed to run on the dilute methane gas mixture producer by landfills, sewage digesters or coal seam leakage. Known as the GQ series these gensets produce a continuous 1570 kW (at 50 Hz) or 1750 kW (50 and 60 Hz) running on landfill or digester gas of low calorific value, while producing very low levels of exhaust emissions. Multiple units can be paralleled for higher power production at larger landfill sites.

Powered by modified versions of the successful model QSV81 G 16–cylinder and OSV91G 18–cylinder natural gas reciprocating engines, the GQ series generator sets feature an enlarged fuel delivery system, double-safety gas shutoff valves, and special coatings and bearing materials to withstand the corrosive contaminants typical in landfill gas. Some pretreatment is required to remove particulate matter and excess water vapour from landfill gas. Any additional pretreatment is dependent on the quality of the gas at a particular site, and on project economics.

“Industry studies indicate that, globally, landfills represent an immense untapped energy resource” says Trevor Passmore, general manager of Cummins Energy Solutions division. “In North America alone, candidate landfills can produce enough methane gas to support a total generating capacity of approximately 1500 MW. Currently, much of this potential energy is being flared off or vented into the atmosphere. In addition, since methane gas has about 20 times the greenhouse effect of CO2 ... burning methane in a genset can reduce its environmental impact by a corresponding factor.”

A Cummins low-BTU generator at a landfill site in Shrewsbury, UK, has accumulated more than 5700 hours of operation. Future installations include a wastewater digester site in the Canary Islands later this year, and the Viridor Waste Management landfill near Edinburgh, UK. At Viridor, Cummins is developing a complete turnkey 3.5 MW power plant using two low-BTU generator sets running on methane from the landfill. The electricity produced at the site will be used to run a nearby cement works. An additional pair of low-BTU generators will be installed during the next two years to take advantage of the site's estimated 20-year supply of methane.


figure 2 figure 2
figure 1 figure 1


Linkedin Linkedin   
Privacy Policy
We have updated our privacy policy. In the latest update it explains what cookies are and how we use them on our site. To learn more about cookies and their benefits, please view our privacy policy. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.