Weyerhaeuser NR Co. filed a Nov. 24 request at the North Carolina Utilities Commission for registration of 8.4 MW of incremental generation capacity added earlier this year at its New Bern, N.C., facility.
The facility produces steam for electricity generation for on-site timber processing and for sale to Duke Energy Progress under a power purchase agreement. The steam is also directly used at the timber operations.
“The new Facility contains a new steam turbine-generator (‘STG’) rated at 38.1 MW ac that was placed in service on April 26, 2014,” the filing noted. “The old STG (rated at 29.7 MW ac) was removed from the site to make way for the new unit that was located on the existing foundation. The incremental capacity increase is 8.4 MW (38.1 – 29.7). The 8.4 MW should qualify as a New Renewable Energy Facility.”
It added: “The new STG is rated at 38.1 MW ac with Facility estimated maximum dependable electric capacity of 31.6 MW ac and estimated maximum thermal capacity of 968.1 MBtu/hr.(where ‘MBtu’ equals one million Btus).”
The physical address of the New Bern Biomass Energy Facility is 1785 Weyerhaeuser Road, Vanceboro, N.C. The facility is located in Craven County, approximately 10 miles north of New Bern.
For the period from April 26, 2014 to Sept. 30, 2014, the New Renewable Energy Facility produced 90,107 MWH of electric and useful thermal energy, net of Station Service.
