Chile: AREVA KOBLITZ successfully finalizes biomass projec

News brief

ACTIVITIES / NUCLEAR POWER

December 18, 2009

AREVA Koblitz is celebrating the successful completion of a contract in Chile. Worth US$ 21 million, the contract was awarded by Dalkia group, a leading European company in the energy services sector, to design and build a co-generation (heat & electricity) power plant fuelled with wood chips for the Chilean company Masisa, leader in the wood plate market for furniture and interior design in Latin America.

AREVA Koblitz has provided turnkey services for the construction of the plant including engineering, procurement, construction (EPC), tests and commissioning. The engineering project began in August 2008 and covered the supply of a 70 t/h - 47 bar boiler, a 2500 m³ biomass handling system, an electrostatic precipitator to clean off-gases, a machinery room, a turbine, a condenser generator and cooling towers. "The successful completion of EPC contracts relies on a combination of technical know-how and financial capabilities", explained Luiz Otávio Koblitz, president of AREVA Koblitz.

The cogeneration plant is located on the Masisa site in Cabrero, Biobio Province in Chile. The plant is fueled by burning surplus wood chips and has an installed capacity of 11 MW. "This plant is of the utmost importance for us. This contract represents the first opportunity for AREVA Koblitz to expand its activities outside its domestic market", pointed out Romero Rego, sales director of AREVA Koblitz.