7 July 2009 - Foster Wheeler AG has announced that the world's largest circulating fluidized bed (CFB) steam generator, which is also the world's first supercritical CFB, has successfully started operating at the Lagisza power plant in Poland.

Foster Wheeler's Global Power Group provided the turnkey supply of the boiler island, including engineering and design, erection, civil work, start-up, and commissioning.

The new CFB replaces pulverized coal units build in the 1960s and was built adjacent to the old boilers. Many existing plant systems, including coal handling and water treatment,were renovated for use with the new CFB unit.

The Lagisza CFB produces 460 MW of electricity at an efficiency level well above that of typical coal plants. The unit incorporates a number of advanced design features such as compact solid separators, INTREX™ super heaters, and low-temperature flue-gas heat recovery that captures valuable heat, which would otherwise be lost.

The unit incorporates for the first time ever in any CFB the highly efficient BENSON vertical-tube supercritical steam technology. BENSON vertical tube is a new steam technology that is more efficient and reliable than conventional supercritical technology prevalent in the market today.

"This CFB represents a culmination of 30 years of design evolution for developing a reliable, fuel-flexible technology for utility scale electricity production," said Jaroslaw Mlonka, president and chief executive officer for the Polish subsidiary of Foster Wheeler's Global Power Group.

Lagisza is owned by Polish power company Południowy Koncern Energetyczny SA (PKE), which is part of TAURON Polska Energia SA, the second largest electricity utility in Poland.