Wärtsilä has been awarded two contracts by Scottish and Newcastle (S&N), the major international brewing group, to supply and install equipment for two biomass-fuelled combined heat and power plants (CHP). The contracts are for two CHP plants to be located on the premises of the company's UK breweries in Manchester, for which the order was received in the end of 2007, and Tadcaster, for which the order was received in the beginning of 2008.

These Wärtsilä BioPower plants will be the first power plants in the world ever to produce, with high efficiency, both electricity and heat using spent grain as fuel. Spent grain is a by-product of the brewing process.

The Wärtsilä solution represents a major step towards sustainable energy self-suffiency for the brewing industry. At the same time, these BioPower plants will help the UK meet its target of having renewables power 10% of the country's electric supply by 2010.

The CHP plants will each have a thermal output of 7.4 MWth and an electrical output of 3.1 MWe. The plants, which will burn a mixture of spent grain and wood chips from local sources, are due to start operations in the first and second quarters of 2009, producing steam and electricity for the breweries' processes and exporting excess electricity to the local electricity network. S&N will earn Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC's) for its production of renewable electricity.

"These projects are extremely important to our company in that they are a real demonstration of our commitment to improve our environmental footprint. Additionally, we believe the investments make good commercial sense, providing some protection from the volatility of the energy markets, as well offering additional security of supply," says Andrew McMurtrie, Project Manager, Scottish & Newcastle.

"The Wärtsilä BioPower plants will enable Scottish & Newcastle to make more efficient use of residue from its beer production, cut down on waste handling and energy costs, as well as reducing CO2 emissions," says Tauno Kuitunen, Regional Sales Director, Wärtsilä Biopower.