The plant will be owned by Greenpower NV, which is a joint venture between Thenergo (50%), the Belgian developer of sustainable energy projects, four local agricultural companies (40%), and a private investor (10%). According to Wärtsilä the CHP plant will be the first power plant in the world ever to produce both electricity and heat using crude jatropha oil as fuel.

“The significance of this order is that it will be the first in the world whereby our engines are to run on vegetable oil from the jatropha plant and to produce both electricity and heat. Jatropha oli is a liquid biofuel that has great potential since jatropha can also be harvested outside the world’s rainforest areas, even near deserts. It is a step towards using CO2-neutral fuels that do not compete with other valuable food crops,” says Ronald Westerdijk, Business Development Manager, Wärtsilä Benelux countries.

Under this turnkey contract, Wärtsilä will deliver the CHP plant utilizing a Wärtsilä 20V32 engine with an electrical output of 9 MW, sufficient to serve approximately 20,000 households. The scope of supply also includes exhaust gas cleaning equipment and heat recovery systems. The plant will have a gross electrical efficiency of 44.2% and an overall efficiency of more than 85%.

Commercial operation of the CHP plant is scheduled to begin in February 2009. Heat from the plant will be used primarily for farming processes, in nearby greenhouses. It will also be used in a drying process, which is part of a livestock farming manure digester plant that processes biogas and dry fertilizer material. Electricity will be sold to the grid.

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