Wood gasifier in Italy | References

Wellness hotel generates energy from wood chips

Hotel Taljörgele in the Ridnauntal/Eisacktal in South Tyrol has been covering its heat and electricity requirements with wood chips since January 2014. Each of the three HKA 45 plants has already operated for about 8,400 hours in the first year. 8,500 hours have been exceeded in 2015 resulting in a plant availability of more than 97 % per year. The hotel alone requires 280 kW in heat energy.

Wood energy for operation and local heating network

The hotel with its 120 beds, kitchen and catering facilities, an indoor and outdoor pool as well as the wellness and spa area incl. sauna area are the top consumers. The Biomass CHP also supplies a local heat network for an agricultural enterprise and three private homes. A new wood chip heating system is available to supply peak loads during the winter as well as during major maintenance work. 17 % of the generated electricity covers the business and private energy requirements of the Haller family; the remaining electrical energy is fed into the public electricity grid.

Visit the wellness hotel Taljörgele

Wood chip management:

Logs fresh from the forest is purchased as fuel for the Biomass CHP as well as the wood chip heating system. An own shredder converts the logs into nearly perfect wood chips for the operation of a wood gasifier. Neither fines nor long parts have to be sieved out of the ready-to-use fuel. Contaminations due to transport residuals or foreign material can be largely prevented that way.

A double bin dryer converts the still moist wood chips into dry fuel.

Plant schematic:

Key data of wood gasifier reference:

Storage depot for buffering larger amounts of wet and dry wood chips: unlimited
Double bin dryer (at the same time storage hopper for dry wood chips): 2 x 100 m³.
The wood gasifiers are directly supplied by the double bin dryer with wood chips.

A conversation with Eugen Haller about the operation of the Biomass CHP plant:

Hello Eugen, what does your Biomass CHP do for your hotel and/or local heat network:
We require a secure heat supply over the entire year. The combination of three HKA 45 plants is the ideal solution for us. Our wood chip heating system is used only to cover the peak demand.

Why did you get your own shredder, is that profitable?
In Italy it is expensive to have an external wood shredder come to your place. We also shred our logs so that a subsequent sieving is actually no longer required. A reliable quality of the wood chips is the basis for long and fault-free operating times with Spanner Re² Biomass CHPs.

How long are the service times for your Biomass CHP?

Depending on the type of service or fault, about 0 – 3 hours per week; for each plant, of course. Most of the working hours, however, go into the wood chip management overall such as the filling of the double bin dryer or the shredding of the basic material.

Photos of the Biomass CHPs: (Click on the photos to magnify)