The first large-scale powerplant fueled by poultry litter in the U.S. will be in Minnesota, but six southern states also are on the developer’s target list. Fibrominn LLC, a subsidiary of Homeland Renewable Energy LLC, will build a 55-MW plant in Benson, Minn. Homeland’s CEO says the concentration of large poultry farms in Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Delaware offers "an opportunity to grow" the technology he pioneered in the U.K.

Rupert Fraser co-founded Fibrowatt Ltd. with his father in the U.K. and, in the 1990s, built three poultry-litter plants ranging from 12.7 MW to 38.5 MW. With fuel supply being used to capacity, he moved operations to the U.S., where the supply of 40 million to 50 million tons per year is "increasingly concentrated" in the southern states, he says.

Last December, Fibrominn issued notice-to-proceed to SNC-Lavalin Power Inc., Redmond, Wash., its contractor for engineering, procurement and construction. Early this month, SNC, whose contract is valued at $142 million, awarded an $18-million contract to Foster Wheeler North America Corp., Clinton, N.J., to design and supply the boiler. Initial operation of the Minnesota plant is scheduled for 2007.

Turkey litter is a high-alkali, high-slagging fuel, says Paul Kelso, Foster Wheeler boiler proposal manager. The boiler has a low grate heat release and long residence time. Kelso believes the furnace, 14 stories high and 43 ft wide, has the largest grate ever made by Detroit Stoker. The single-drum boiler has local feeder bins, not the typical screw feeder. Selective noncatalytic reduction with urea injection in the furnace controls nitrogen oxides, similar to units used by municipal solid-waste systems, he says.

Poultry litter normally is used for fertilizer, but can’t be transported far, says Fraser. The plant will burn 700,000 tons, about half the state’s supply from 45 million birds, he says.