NTE Energy’s projects integrate biomass combustion technologies with traditional generation technologies. While the concept of a hybrid renewable power plant is new and innovative, NTE Energy has chosen to use proven, reliable technologies that when combined yield significant environmental and economic benefits.
While each of our projects differs in size, our hybrid technology integrates a biomass boiler into a standard natural gas fired combined cycle power plant. The hybrid renewable cycle matches and combines steam from the biomass boiler with the steam produced using waste heat from the natural gas cycle, providing significant performance, economic and operational benefits.
Hybrid Energy System
Natural Gas Cycle
NTE Energy’s projects will use conventional clean burning, natural gas combustion turbine and associated heat recovery steam generation technology as the foundation of the power plant. Combined cycle generation technology produces electricity with extremely low emissions and has a proven record of providing significant efficiency with commercial reliability. Natural gas will be delivered using pre-existing high pressure natural gas pipelines. This natural gas will be combusted in the combined cycle turbine. Waste heat will be collected in the form of steam in the heat recovery steam generator. The hybrid cycle will combine this steam with steam from the project’s renewable energy cycle and convert it to electricity using the project’s steam turbine generator.
Renewable Thermal Cycle
NTE Energy’s projects will include a renewable thermal cycle which will generate steam through the combustion of clean biomass materials in a boiler utilizing advanced air emission reduction technologies. Steam generated in the renewable thermal cycle will be combined with steam generated in the natural gas cycle. The combined steam flow will be directed to the project’s steam turbine generator where it will be converted to clean electricity. The thermal renewable cycle will use proven, energy efficient and environmentally sound methods for converting renewable fuels such as clean urban wood, agricultural residues and by-products from existing forestry operations into renewable energy.
The primary biomass fuel for the renewable thermal cycle will be clean biomass waste material currently being generated and/or collected in urban areas and forestry operations throughout the country. By using these materials in a biomass energy system, the project will significantly reduce the current creation of greenhouse gases, such as methane, that result from the decomposition of these biomass materials in local landfills and other disposal areas. In addition to clean wood waste, the project may also use agricultural waste, clean biomass materials - such as pallets and wooden packing materials generated at local port facilities - and the residues from sawmills and other forestry production facilities.
The flexibility of the hybrid renewable technology can be employed on a variety of project applications, including Greenfield Projects, Retrofit Projects, Simple Cycle to Combined Cycle Hybridization Projects, and Repowering Projects. Though these projects incorporate very different pieces of equipment, each result in a hybrid energy center that utilizes a natural gas combined cycle unit and a hybrid biomass boiler. For examples of each type of project, please click the links below.