Technology Status - NET Nowak Energie & Technologie AG

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Refurbishment/upgrading: Existing plants can be economically refurbished
and/or upgraded. An example is the McNeil Station in Burlington (USA),
originally built as a wood-burning 50 MW power plant in the early 1980s. It
recently became host to field verification tests for an innovative biomass
gasifier. With help from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Biopower Program,
the gasifier will generate electricity more efficiently, and with less pollution,
than conventional boiler/turbine technology.
Residues and waste management: The most economic forms of biomass for
generating electricity are residues. These are the organic by-products of food,
fibre and forest production. Common examples are bagasse, rice husks and
sawdust. Low-cost biomass sources are also common near manufacturing
centres where clean wood waste materials are available in large quantities,
for example pallet and crate discards. Besides other conversion technologies
already mentioned above, anaerobic digestion schemes offer compelling
solutions to waste disposal problems and mainly produce biogas for energy
use and a digestate that can serve as fertiliser or soil conditioner.
Technology learning: The great diversity of biopower technologies, fuels,
conversion processes and system designs, as well as the dependence on local
climate and industrial patterns, may explain why no representative
experience curve has ever been drawn for biopower. Costs and cost-reduction
opportunities vary greatly. Co-firing, for example, requires only modest
investments and generation costs are low, provided fuel is inexpensive.
Eliminating waste is sometimes the main project benefit, with electricity just a
by-product. Since the elimination of waste is in itself a valued activity, the cost
of this electricity is very low. Gasification offers increased efficiencies. New
types of small modular systems are also being developed. These technologies
are currently expensive, but their cost reduction potential is considerable.
Market Growth Factors
It is difficult to draw a clear picture of the biopower market due to the
diversity of technologies and applications as well as the scarcity of data.
Current and potential markets for bioenergy are very fragmented. It is clear,
however, that many market opportunities exist for biopower. It is important
to remember that in Europe most biomass-to-electricity schemes were
developed in the pulp, paper and forest industries, where significant
synergies and the need for waste management were critical success factors.
In the coming years, biopower is likely to progress steadily, with an annual
global capacity increase of 4%. The price of natural gas, one of biopower’s
main competitors, will be an important factor.
BIOPOWER X5