35 kWe electric output ~ 210 MWh/year
140 kWth thermal output ~ 840 MWh/year

The municipality owned company CO.SE.A. supplies energy solutions for societies and large building owners and administrators in 22 small municipalities with a total population of 96,000 in the province of Bologna.

CO.SE.A. wanted to supply CO2-neutral energy for a school, an adjoining sports facitily, and am outdoor swimming pool in the village of Castel d'Aiano. They opted for an updraft gasifier based Stirling engine plant. Previosly, the fuel source was propane gas, supplied by truck.

The CHP plant, which came into opearation in December 2008, supplies hot water for heating purposes while the power is  being sold to the local transmission company at an attractive feed-in tariff. This secures a short payback time of the project.

The wood chips are supplied from a distance of 5 km by a local farmer.

The main components of the plant consist of a 200 kW updraft gasifier, a combustion chamber, and one (1) 35 kWe Stirling engine. The gasifier and combustion chamber, designed by Stirling DK, were manufactured by the leading Danish boiler manufacturer Danstoker. The control system, based on Siemens components, was supplied by the Austrian company Larsys.

The plant is fully automized and designed to operate up to 7,000 hours per year.