Sustainability

COAL POWER, BIODIESEL AND WIND ENERGY— THE TREND TOWARDS CLEAN ENERGY IS BOOSTING INVESTMENTS.

In the balancing act between energy needs and ecological consequences, the energy sector and industry in general are counting on new technologies. Bilfinger Berger supports companies in their development of sustainable solutions—by providing construction and other services, and by participating in research and development. Here are three examples.

• COAL POWER
  The energy corporation RWE is investing almost € 2 billion in the energy optimization, upgrading and expansion of the lignite power plant in Neurath near Grevenbroich. Two new power plant units there are being equipped with facility technology that will increase energy efficiency to 43 percent—eight percent above its previous level—while trimming CO2 emissions by some 30 percent. Bilfinger Berger Power Services is manufacturing and assembling a high-pressure pipeline that will be able to withstand the new system’s higher process temperatures and operating pressure. A research project is also being conducted by Bilfinger Berger to study the long-term resilience of materials in the face of increasing demands.
• BIO POWER
  As an industrial services provider, Bilfinger Berger is also active in the area of biofuels.Their compatibility with today’s engines and the fact that they can be mixed with fossil fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, makes biofuels particularly interesting. The Industrial Services division is involved in the construction of biodiesel facilities in Frankfurt and Rostock, where fuel is produced from rapeseed. The company has also supplied and fitted components for similar facilities in two other German cities—Marl and Halle. By the year 2010, biological fuels are expected to account for six percent of the European fuel market—as compared to the current level of two percent. In order to meet rising demand, new capacities are being created in many countries and existing production processes are being optimized. Bilfinger Berger Industrial Services also anticipates increasing international demand in this field.
• WIND POWER
  Some 400 offshore wind plants are in operation in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea — though only two of them are in German waters: one test wheel off the coast of Emden and another off the coast near Rostock. But by 2020 the German government intends to significantly increase the share of renewable energies in power generation, especially by developing wind energy.The power company Eon alone intends to build wind parks off German coastal areas delivering a total output of 500 megawatts in the next five years. F+Z Baugesellschaft, a Bilfinger Berger Group company specializing in hydraulic engineering and foundations, was involved in the preliminary studies for various wind parks and has built research platforms and wind measurement masts in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Bilfinger Berger is also involved in a number of research projects investigating the particular characteristics of exposed locations at high sea. Here, wind and waves subject systems to massive strain, salt water corrodes the steel and concrete constructions, and assembly and maintenance activities are especially difficult. Solutions are being sought for these issues that are geared to enhancing the cost-benefit efficiency of offshore plants. Bilfinger Berger is familiar with the complex maintenance of offshore structures since the Industrial Services division maintains oil and gas rigs in the North Sea.The demand profiles here are comparable to the conditions prevailing in future offshore wind park facilities. (si)