Roedkilde - The European Theatre Folk High School - Denmark

The European Theatre Folk High School is situated on the island of Moen, app. 100 km south of Copenhagen. The school has since 1866 been run by principles of sustainability.

Since 1981 "The relationship between man and nature" has been a prominent theme for the teaching at the school - which is no surprise considering the beautiful nature surrounding the school.

In 1996 the school replaced their original oil based heating system with a heat plant based on wood pellets. The original three oil boilers used all together 80 000 litres of light fuel oil a year. A pellet plant has now replaced the two smallest of the oil boilers with a capacity of 350 kW. The pellet boiler consumes approximately 70 kg of pellets an hour.

The consumption in 2000 is estimated to 160 ton pellets.

The pellet boiler is manufactured by REKA, type HKRS 300.

There is a storage capacity of 40-50 m3. A fuel handling system consisting of a hydraulic push conveyor and a screw conveyor transports the pellets to a fuel container. From here a screw conveyor leads the pellets into a stoker, which then feeds the pellets into the boiler.

As part of the conversion a new micro network for the distribution of heat was established. Pipelines were constructed to connect the still existing oil heating central, the new pellet heating central and the common hall, which at the same occasion was converted from electrical heating to the new water based system of heat distribution.

The investment cost for the new pellets heating plant, including pellets boiler, storage silo, a new building for the pellet boiler and boiler house installations was 91 000 Euro (excl. VAT). The investment cost for pipeline systems and new water based heating installations in the buildings was 168 000 Euro (excl. VAT).

The school applied for investment subsidy from the Danish Energy Agency. The plant was entitled to approximately 20% of the investment cost for the boilers and boiler house installations.

The conversion from oil to pellets has resulted in a number of new maintenance tasks. General tending and maintenance of the boiler consist of a monthly cleaning of the boiler, which takes about a day's work. The overall supervision of the plant takes about half an hour each day.

Besides the maintenance of the boiler the ashes from the cyclone and the bottom of the boiler needs to be removed.

The pellets are delivered in loads of 25 tons. The consumption at the school is approximately such a load of 25 tons of pellets every second or third month. Burning 25 tons results in half a wheelbarrow of ashes from the cyclone and about two wheelbarrows from the bottom of the boiler.

Today's price of wood pellets for large buildings is 142,18 Euro/ton (1.060 DKK/ton).

Today's investment subsidies for larger biomass plants (installed capacity above 250 kW) are determined by parameters like CO2 savings and plant efficiency. The subsidy for a 350 kW plant will be below 25%, and often close to 0 due to the high savings earned by the plant owner.

As a consequence of the conversion the school has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 150 ton. At the same time the cost of fuel has been reduced by approximately 60 percent.

Key figures:

• Year of installation: 1996
• Boiler capacity (heat output): 350 kW
• Investment (boiler, equipment, storage and building, incl. VAT, excl. subsidy): 114 000 Euro
• Annual wood pellet consumption: 160 ton
• Wood pellet price (including VAT): 142 Euro/ton
• Annual savings in fuel costs: 35 000 Euro

Case study prepared by
dk-TEKNIK ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Jeppe Bjerg & Anders Evald
Denmark, June 2001

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