Biomass Challenges for Federal AgenciesPresented to the Renewable Energy Working Group
September, 2002
Existing and Pending Biomass Use in Agencies
• Fort Stewart, GA• Hampton Roads, VA• Bio-Diesel for Transportation• E-85 for Transportation• Gasohol for Transportation• McMurdo Sound • NASA and LFG
Three Approaches
• Build Projects that Use Biomass Energy
• Buy Green Power that Uses Biomass Energy
• Facilitate the Use or Development of Biomass on Federal Lands or Through Federal Programs
Bioenergy Technologies
• Electric or thermal - solid fuel or gasification– Small-scale systems, distributed
generation– Large scale generation or
cogeneration – Co-firing (biomass and coal or
natural gas)• Liquid Biofuels
– Ethanol, methanol, bio-oil, bio-diesel• Chemicals and biobased products
Biomass Fuel
Flexibility
• Fuel can be stored, unlike wind or solar, therefore:– Biomass can be dispatched
when needed– Biomass plants can have high
capacity factors• Biomass can be:
– substituted for natural gas, – blended with conventional fuels
– biodiesel and ethanol– blended with coal
Applications for
Bioenergy
• Small-scale power or cogeneration systems
• Large-scale biomass generating plants– Combined heat and power– Stand-alone power plants (usually 20
MW or larger)• Wood heating at small facilities
– schools, hospitals, housing• Co-fire in industrial or utility boilers• Liquid fuels, specialty chemicals• Green power purchases
Microgeneration – Performance
15 kWe gasifier/engine
55 kWe gasifier/engine
280 kWe gasifier/engine
Capacity (kWe) 15 55 280
Thermal (kWth) ? 120 600
Company CPC, USA Xylowatt Xylowatt
Yrs in business 7 7 7
Number of units 3 built, 7 coming 10 demos 10 demos
Status Demo Demo/Com Demo/Com
Biomass GT/yr(12 h/day; 50% MC, 4000 Btu/lb)
100-200 400 2000
Footprint 10 x 6 x 7 ? ?
Installed cost ($) $150,000 (full demo costs)
$300,000 $800,000
Community Power Corp - Biomax15
Xylowatt SA (Swiss)
55 kW electric120 kW thermal450 tons/year fuel
Facility Heating System PerformanceWood furnace Wood gasifier/burner Wood gasifier/burner
Thermal capacity
0.03 – 1 MWth(115k – 1 MMBtu/hr)
0.1 - 3 MWth (.5 – 14 MMBtu/hr)
0.6 – 12 MWth (2 – 40 MMBtu/hr)
Company Taylor Waterstoves Chiptec Converta Kiln
Installed cost $4,500 - $65,000 $30,000 – $275,000 (gasifier only)
??
Status Commercial Commercial Commercial
Years in business
Not Known 16 Not known
Biomass use (GT/year)
50 – 3,000 330 – 10,000 2,000 – 40,000
# systems in operation
1000s >125 in NA 300-400
Note: Biomass use estimates assume 0.90 capacity, 33,475 Btu-h/boiler hp, and 4,000 Btu/wet lb biomass heat content
Chiptec Systems, Vermont
• Heat only or CHP• 5 – 45% MC• Wide range of sizes• Turnkey systems• Co-gen (35 kW – 5 MW) • Automated fuel handling
Other Wood Heating System Manufacturers
• Messersmith Manufacturers (Michigan)
• Grove Wood Heating, Inc (Canada)
• Industrial Boiler Company (Georgia)
• KMW Energy Systems, Inc (Canada)
CostComparisons: Biomass vs.Fossil Fuels
Category UnitsBiomass (McNeil Tech)
Biomass (EPRI /
FERCO)Coal
Co-Fire Coal /
BiomassNatural
Gas
Technology Direct Fire Direct Fire Pulverized coal
Pulverized coal
Combined cycle
Capacity MW 20 50 300 100
Installed Cost $/kw $2,200 $1,965 $1,195 $271 $500
Heat RateBtu/kWh 20,000 14,483 9,830 10,440 6,500
Capacity Factor % 90 80 80 80 80
Fuel Cost
$/MMBtu $2.24 $2.63 $0.77 N/A $2.85
Levelized Cost $/kWh $0.061 $0.075 $0.044 N/A $0.041
Facilitated Project
Potential
• Millions of tons of biomass will either fuel wildfires or be removed
• Agencies helping private sector use thinnings for energy would be significant for the Federal goal, and for U.S. bioenergy development
• USDA Forest Service and Interior are the 800 pound gorillas in this situation
• DoD, DOE and others with landholdings to manage have specific local opportunities
• DOES NOT HAVE TO BE CONSUMED BY THE AGENCY TO COUNT!
Current Situation
and Issues
• Fires continue to threaten communities• Increased interest and debate over
forest restoration– mechanical treatment vs. prescribed
burn– diameter limits– community defense only vs.
landscape treatment• Mitigation efforts are expensive, but not
as costly as fires• Market outlets for small diameter trees
can help defer thinning costs
USFS Example
• 46,000 acres targeted for mechanical thinning under National Fire Plan in 2001, just in Urban-Wildland Interface (UWI) and areas to reduce fire threats to communities
• Conservatively, could have supported 436 MW of biomass capacity and over 3000 GWh of generation
• Excludes acres with prescribed burns, or a combination of treatments
BLM Example
• DRAFT NREL Assessment of RE Potential on Federal Lands, including biomass
• Used satellite data showing Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) above 4, proximity to communities at fire risk, population centers.
• Identified Planning Units in the Following States:
• Arizona• California• Colorado
• Montana• New Mexico• Oregon• Washington
Benefits of Bioenergy
• Biomass fuel prices generally stable– hedge against fuel cost variability
• Biomass $ stay in state and local economies
• Rural economic development and job creation (CA = 5 jobs/MW capacity)
• Biomass fuel costs not subject to control of a single supplier
Benefits of Bioenergy
(con’t)
• Biomass is a baseload renewable resource
• Reduce SOx and fossil CO2 emissions
• Biomass systems are easy to convert to other fuels
• Outlet for forest health restoration activities
• Landfill diversion of urban wood wastes
Why Isn’t It Happening?
• Uncertainty– Environmental opposition, distrust– When, where, how much thinning, and
how long must be known to develop supply curve
• Wildfire is overwhelming focus – not benefits of using thinnings
• Little coordination among agency, state and community plans and investments
• Small-scale technologies adaptable to supply uncertainty are just becoming commercial
• Interconnection , stand-by and buy-back rates
Electricity Sales: Breakeven Price
vs. Biomass Fuel
$0$5
$10$15$20$25$30$35$40$45
$0.057 $0.063 $0.069 $0.076 $0.082 $0.088 $0.095
Dollars/kWh
Dol
lars
/Dry
Ton
Modest Proposals
• In contracts seek proposals for energy reuse of removed biomass and industry input on structure of requests for proposals
• Work in coordination with States, communities and environmentalists in promising areas to create reliable supply
• Support demonstrations of modular technologies that address supply issues
Interesting Projects
• USFS Supported Work with Nevada Tahoe Conservation District, small-scale system
• Pending CEC Project on Distributed Biomass Generation with Truckee-Donner PUD
• CEC-Funded Analysis of RE Distributed Generation and Public Benefits
• Four Corners sustainable forest partnership bioenergy project
• Front range biomass energy assessment• Summit and Eagle county biomass energy
assessment• Yavapai Apache Feasibility Study
Contacts Scott HaaseMcNeil Technologies143 Union Blvd., Suite 900Lakewood, CO 80228Phone: 303-273-0071Fax: 303-273-0074Email:
Kevin DeGroatMcNeil Technologies6564 Loisdale Court, S-800Springfield, VA 22150Phone: 703-921-1632Fax: 703-921-1610Email:
[email protected] www.mcneiltech.com