Under the terms of the LOI, OPPD plans to replace up to 5% of the coal burned in one of its North Omaha Station boilers with PowerPellets during the one-month co-firing test, following which the companies expect to negotiate towards a multi-year PowerPellet contract.
Many coal-fired power plants in the US are located in the corn-belt with dozens of 500-plus megawatt coal-fired power plants in the Midwest. Burning PowerPellet is expected to help these facilities generate 5% to 10% renewable electricity in the very near term.
Kevin Dretzka, president of Next Step, said: “Several Midwestern utilities are currently evaluating PowerPellets. They’re impressed that PowerPellets pulverize and process like coal and ship and store like grain, but, we found that what they appreciate most, is that PowerPellets are made from corn stover, America’s most abundant form of renewable biomass.
“Using corn stover gives utilities confidence in a reliable, price-stable supply of biomass-based fuel.”
