Utilising biomass in electricity production

Contribution to carbon reduction through use of biomass as a source of electricity production

Increases in renewable energy production have caused a major change in the electricity market, resulting in frequent imbalances in the electrical grid. The project contributes to carbon reduction through its use of biomass as a source of electricity production, increasing the share of green energy in the network while helping to address the imbalances caused by the rise of solar- and wind-generated power. The stakeholders included central procurement and energy managers in the mills; pool service providers; communication providers; and programming service providers. Challenges at the start of the project can be attributed to being early movers in the market. The registration procedures were unclear, and changed several times during the process. We also faced resistance from current market participants. Additional hurdles included ensuring production schedules were not affected, and technical difficulties programming the control panels in the energy department.

The intended result of the project was to develop a service with the pool service provider that utilised flexibility in electricity production to earn income through participation in the balancing market. Moreover, participating in the balancing market helps enable smoother integration of renewables into the market, improves security of supply and increases the capacity of the power system. There is the added benefit of using biomass-produced electricity in the mills, which increases the use of renewables for power generation and contributes further to carbon reduction. Two Mondi mills have been successfully registered and are now fully eligible to participate: Mondi Frantschach (since 2015) and Mondi Neusiedler (since 2016).