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Bio-power plant

It is well known that it is environmentally beneficial to generate electricity from water in hydroelectric power stations. But did you know that we can also generate environmentally-friendly electricity and heat from wood?

Tranås Energi is one of many examples of Swedish excellence in terms of exploiting bioenergy. This small energy company’s bio-power plant generates environmentally-friendly electricity from bark, shavings and other wood. The wood is burned, heating water. The steam drives turbines which generate electricity.

This process also produces a certain amount of extra heat which can be used in a district heating plant attached to the bio-power plant. This plant heats buildings that otherwise would have been heated by electricity. Altogether, the bio-power plant in Tranås generates enough electricity to meet the needs of 500 average Norwegian households.

Not all of the wood from trees should be used for this purpose. A tree is a valuable resource that consists of many different parts. The most valuable part is the tree trunk itself. This can be used to manufacture products that otherwise would have been made from oil, something you can read about further in this magazine.