The recent announcement of the proposed ADAGE biopower plant in Mason County, Wash., generated a few questions.

Questions like: What, exactly, is biomass? Will it create jobs for the folks who live here? How will it impact our environment and local infrastructure? What about the air and water?

All good questions … and all answered in detail, along with many others, at these two websites:

biopowerfacts.com and adagebiopower.com/washington

You can also view and download a wide range of reference materials and link to information on academic, government and other organizations’ websites.

After looking over the information, send us your thoughts and sign up to receive emailed updates on the ADAGE Washington site. If we didn’t answer your question, send it to us and we’ll post an update.

AREVA Biomass Facility

AREVA Biomass Facility

AREVA Biomass Facility

AREVA Biomass Facility

AREVA Biomass Facility

AREVA Biomass Facility

AREVA Biomass Facility

AREVA Biomass Facility

AREVA Biomass Facility

By Katherine Berezowskyj

By Katherine Berezowskyj

AREVA Biomass Facility

What does a recipe for sugar, rice and eucalyptus make?  Not a new culinary dish, but several hundred megawatts of reliable, affordable renewable energy.  In fact, sugar cane bagasse (stalks, husks, etc.), rice husks, and eucalyptus branches and leaves are all used in biomass facilities to produce clean, sustainable energy.

And AREVA has just been awarded three contacts for biomass facilities that use these materials to produce power in Brazil and Thailand.

Through its subsidiary Koblitz, AREVA has signed a contract for the construction of 11 turnkey biomass plants for Brazil.  These plants, which will use eucalyptus, will have a total output capacity of 380 megawatts and is expected to take about four years to build.  Also in Brazil, AREVA will retrofit the power generation unit which uses materials from a sugar mill in the Alagoas state.  The upgraded unit will generate 50 megawatts of electricity.

In Thailand, AREVA has won a contract to build two turnkey 10 megawatt biomass plants that will be fueled by rice husks.

AREVA has built over 100 units across the globe and is planning to bring this technology and expertise to America.  AREVA is currently working as part of a joint-venture with Duke Energy to build biomass facilities across the United States.  The joint-venture, ADAGE, already has two biomass facilities under development in Florida.  Each of these facilities will produce 700 direct and indirect jobs and enough energy to power 40,000 homes.

The development of this renewable energy source continues to grow.  Bloomberg reported last week that ADAGE “plan(s) to pick U.S. locations for at least three biomass-fueled plants in the next six months to meet demand for energy from renewable sources.”

The press release—AREVA Awarded Contracts in Brazil and Thailand—here.

For more information on ADAGE, and to keep up with the latest news, check out the site.

Mark Flanagan of NEI is highlighting a CFR interview with Duke Energy’s CEO, James E. Rogers, in which he talks about the future of the energy industry – and the importance of nuclear energy not only for our CO2-free energy future, but also for our economy:

But the difference in the jobs is quite different, because if you’re wiping off a solar panel, it’s sort of a minimum wage type of job, [with] much higher compensation for nuclear engineers and nuclear operators. If our goal is to rebuild the middle class, nuclear plays a key role there, particularly if coal is out of the equation.

He also talks about the U.S. regaining its role as the leader in nuclear energy:

People forget that [the United States was] the innovator of nuclear energy. We developed the technologies. And what people have also forgotten is that 20 percent of our electricity comes from nuclear, and that we produce twice the amount of electricity from nuclear than any country in the world. We sit here today, not turning dirt on a single nuclear plant. [. . .] We have a competitive advantage on building nuclear, on building recycling to address the spent fuel, and that would be a great loss of opportunity if we don’t find a way to seize it and rebuild the supply.

Like Mark Flanagan said, we could spend all day highlighting great lines from this interview, but it would probably be better if you just read the interview for yourself.  You should also know that Duke Energy is teaming up with AREVA on the ADAGE joint venture focusing on the biopower sector. ADAGE was recently in the news because JEA, the energy company for Jacksonville, Florida, announced that it plans to power 40,000 homes with power generated from ADAGE’s biomass plants.  We’re proud to be working with Duke Energy and Jim Rogers, who clearly “gets it” when it comes to the future of energy generation in the U.S.

• More posts about ADAGE Biopower
• Official Website for ADAGE Biopower

by Jarret Adams

As the U.S. Congress gears up to address climate legislation, it’s hard to know what the best proposal is to address the daunting issue of climate change. There seem to be about as many proposals as there are organizations with a stake in energy and climate issues. But, here in one word is the main reason that nuclear energy matters in this conversation: scale.

Nuclear energy generates 20 percent of America’s electricity but produces 72 percent of our CO2-free electricity. That’s three times more than hydropower, the next largest contributor. According to the Energy Information Administration, the electric power sector is responsible for 40 percent of U.S. emissions of CO2.

Therefore, even a relatively modest increase in the share of nuclear generation would have a major impact on reducing CO2 emissions from the power sector. This also would help move us toward the 80 percent reduction by 2050 that many congressional leaders are discussing.

In fact, the EPA analysis of the Waxman-Markey legislation found in its core scenario that meeting this emissions reduction scenario would require a 150 percent increase in U.S. nuclear generation – this would call for building as many as 180 new reactors by 2050!

Still, we at AREVA don’t believe nuclear energy is the only answer. We are rapidly working to develop new biopower plants through our ADAGE joint venture with Duke Energy. We’re also active in wind power and are scouting new locations for an offshore wind farm in North America using our 5 MW turbines that we are currently installing off the coast of Germany.

The Jacksonville Business Journal is reporting (you need a subscription to read the whole article) that JEA (the energy company for Jacksonville, Florida) is planning to buy electricity for 40,000 homes from ADAGE’s Hamilton County biopower plant.  The plant, operated by ADAGE, a JV between Duke Energy and AREVA, converts woody biomass – debris from forest operations that would otherwise go to waste – into usable, renewable energy.
 
We’re glad that JEA’s going to be working with us.  Customer demand for clean, renewable energy has a big role to play in the debates going on right now over climate change and renewable energy. If the people are asking for more of their energy to be generated by green energy sources like nuclear power, biomass, wind, and solar, it’s easier to get to a cleaner, CO2-free energy future.
 

• ADAGE Biopower Website
• Previous blog posts about ADAGE Biopower

by Katherine Berezowskyj

Jobs and renewable energy were the topics of conversation during a roundtable in Hamilton County, Florida last week. Local officials and residents joined representatives from AREVA and Duke Energy, to talk about the impact that the planned ADAGE biopower facility will have in the area.

AREVA Inc. President Jacques Besnainou speaks to the economic roundtable.

A joint venture between AREVA and Duke Energy, ADAGE is the first partnership in the United States between two major companies to develop new facilities based on biopower─ biomass to electricity. Using local clean wood byproducts and residue as fuel, this planned biopower facility in Hamilton County will create a significant impact on the surrounding communities, producing both clean energy and much-needed jobs.

During the construction and initial operation phases, the facility is expected to create roughly 700 direct and indirect jobs throughout the community. These job estimates provided by Dr. Julie Harrington, an independent economist and Director of Florida State University’s Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis, also show a $105 million direct impact on the local economy in the first 2.5 years. After full startup, she estimates that it will create 24 direct operation jobs, at least 100 fuel supply jobs, and 150 indirect jobs in the local economy. Representative Leonard Bembry (D-Madison) added that “following the construction period, the facility will provide over $70 million in economic impact every year.”

ADAGE expects to break ground in 2010 on the facility and to have it up and running by as early as mid-2012. When fully operational, the facility will produce 50 Megawatts of renewable energy, enough to power 40,000 homes.

During the roundtable, ADAGE president Reed Wills shared his thoughts about the project saying, “Together, we can create renewable energy for homes and businesses while also creating local jobs─ a win-win for Hamilton County and Florida’s energy future.”

• More information on the ADAGE Economic Roundtable

AREVA's Anne Lauvergeon, Duke Energy's Jim Rogers, and former President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative

ADAGE LLC, a joint venture between AREVA SA and Duke Energy Company, just announced the proposed site of its first U.S. biopower plant in Hamilton County, Florida, during the annual Forest Landowners Association conference. The site, the first in a series of 50 megawatt biopower plants that ADAGE plans to develop in the United States, will use clean wood waste as fuel to produce electricity.

Not only are the ADAGE biopower plants an emerging source of renewable energy within the United States, but the Hamilton County biopower facility will also help to fuel the economy through the creation of approximately 400 jobs during construction, including 125 facility and fuel-related jobs during operation.

ADAGE has already met several key project milestones, including securing rights to the 215-acre site in Hamilton County and submitting applications for state environmental permits. ADAGE has also begun exclusive negotiations with JEA, an electric utility from the Jacksonville area, for the potential purchase of energy from the biopower plant and with The Langdale Company for the supply of wood waste to be used for the project.

While there are still several steps that need to be taken before construction work can begin, once completed, the ADAGE facility will provide clean reliable electricity to around 40,000 households in Florida. That power will be carbon-neutral, and will help meet important sustainability goals.

Stay tuned for more exciting site announcements as ADAGE continues to bring sustainable energy to the United States. Which lucky state will be next?

By Mary Beth Ginder

There’s a lot of buzz going around lately about “Green” energy. With the Obama Administration promising big bucks to the renewable energy sector, to reduce carbon dioxide (C02) emissions, wind and solar power are getting a lot of attention. However, they are not the only renewable options—and not necessarily the best.

Biopower, the process of using biomass (organic material made of plant and animal waste) to generate electricity, is another exciting “green” option. AREVA, already a world leader in CO2-free nuclear energy, has joined the renewables sector in the United States as ADAGE, through its joint venture with Duke Energy.

Biomass energy produced by ADAGE will have the advantage of being non-intermittent (will not depend on a windy or sunny day) and will provide more electricity generation per unit than other renewable sources. While wind and solar energy create the bulk of their jobs during construction, biomass also continues to employ people during operation. With ADAGE looking to build 10-12 plants over the next six years, thousands of jobs will be created in the production of green power.

For those of you unfamiliar with biopower don’t be alarmed at the thought of using trees and organic material for power. The wood waste material that ADAGE will use is a sustainable fuel source and is locally available. ADAGE will use that waste in one of their 50 megawatt plants, turning it into electricity for 40,000 households!

It makes sense to me that if the U.S. wants an energy source that is renewable, reliable, creates long-term jobs, and helps reduce CO2 emissions, then biomass is the way to go.

By Jarret Adams

Today’s announcement of a memorandum of understanding for 80 offshore wind turbines for AREVA’s subsidiary Multibrid signals a major step forward for our renewable business.  Apart from the fact that this will be a contract worth over $900 million for AREVA, it reinforces our position as a major player in the renewables sector.

These wind turbines will be located off the North Sea coast of Germany, but AREVA is looking for opportunities for new business at various locations in North America. Our company remains one of a handful capable of producing the 5 MW offshore wind turbines.

AREVA also is involved in other renewable sectors, such as biopower (biomass to electricity). We have constructed 100 biomass facilities around the world and are now looking to build more in the United States.

Last September, AREVA and Duke Energy formed ADAGE, a joint venture focused on providing biopower solutions to U.S. electricity customers. Since its formation, ADAGE has moved forward with the goal of building 10-12 facilities over the next six years. In February, ADAGE announced a preliminary agreement with Energy Northwest to market 50 MW biopower facilities in Pacific Northwest.

Developing solutions for power generations with a small environmental impact from renewables, such as wind and biomass, along with clean nuclear energy is a main focus of our business.

By Jarret Adams

Recently AREVA has been the subject of some attacks by members of anti-nuclear organizations. Here is our basic response:

While some may have a quasi-religious or professional obligation to oppose nuclear energy, I would invite anyone who is curious about the issue to research it on your own and come to your own conclusions.

America’s nuclear power plants are important sources of carbon-free generation and produce 20 percent of our electricity. Nuclear power also represents nearly three-quarters of our emission-free generation; most of the rest comes from hydropower.

Expanding nuclear power can make one of the largest contributions to preventing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions of any initiative under way in our country.

For people for whom it is their full-time jobs it is to attack nuclear energy, it is not surprising to see such a vitriolic attack against our company, which employs 6,000 hardworking people in the United States and 75,000 around the world. 

It is also important to note that AREVA also is a leading producer of smart grid applications which make electricity distribution more efficient and have a rapidly growing renewable business in the biomass sector and producing offshore wind turbines.

It would take a long time to address each inaccuracy or misrepresentation that has appeared recently, but would like to address at least one regarding the La Hague recycling facility in France.

Protecting the environment is a priority for us in all of our operations. Because of concerns regarding La Hague, we have set up real-time environmental monitoring on our website. Check it out for yourself: http://www.lahague.areva-nc.com/.

We welcome visitors to our facilities in the United States and elsewhere, so people can draw their own conclusions about our environmental commitments.