This is the second generating unit that Endesa has upgraded at the plant. The first – with 369 MW of installed capacity – was converted successfully in the first half of 2005 and was hooked up to the grid in July of this year. After a year of practical use, the solution design is a clear success and the new fuel has performed excellently.
This conversion consists of adapting the thermal production unit so that it uses only imported coal instead of a mixture of local lignite and sub-bituminous coal. Specifically, parts of the boiler and the turbine will be replaced, while a general upgrade of the plant will be carried out.
The full conversion of the facility will reduce CO2 emissions by more than one million tons per year (tpy) and the amount of ash produced by 1,700,000 tpy. It will also lower the emissions of SO2 by 95.5%, NOx by 16.5% and particles by 54.5%. Moreover, the unavailability index will improve, while operating and maintenance costs will fall, the company hopes.
The conversion of the thermal production unit at As Pontes comes in addition to the construction of a new coal terminal at Ferrol’s outside port. Although ENDESA already has its own pier, at which it currently offloads almost three million tons of coal, it has decided to build an additional one through which it will import five million tpy.
The facility is scheduled to come onstream at the end of 2007.
The project should help keep Spain’s power generation assets appropriately diversified. Also, by extending the plant’s useful life, the conversion project contributes considerably to ensuring the supply of electricity in Spain.
