Biomass Feasibility Project Final Report - Xcel Energy

7,000
6,000
Turkey Manure
Turkey Manure
77%
Broiler Manure
11%
5,000
Billion Btu
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
Broiler Manure
Layer Manure
0
Layer Manure
12%
Figure III-10: Economic Energy Potential
(Dry Manures)
Figure III-11: Economic Energy Potential by
Percentage (Dry Manures)
Conversion to Units of Electricity
The following formula is applied to find the potential electric energy potential of each
feedstock:
ElectricityPotential = 1,000,000 BTU/MMBTU * EnergyTech * EfficiencyElec * 1,000 kWh/MWh)
Where:
3412BTU//kwh
Electrical Potential = The megawatt-hours of electricity that could be generated with a
given feedstock.
EnergyTech = The energy content, in million BTUs, technically available for use as a biopower
feedstock.
EfficiencyElec = The conversion efficiency of biomass feedstocks to electricity. For
hays/straws, woody residues and dry manures an efficiency of 25% was used. For wet
manures an efficiency of 12% was used. This efficiency represents the net electrical
efficiency from the energy content of raw manure. It incorporates the efficiency of
biogas production by the digester and the electrical efficiency of the electrical
generating equipment (in many cases a biogas enabled engine generator set).
To estimate the generating capacity that each potential feedstock could support the following
formula was applied.
CapacityPotential =
Where:
ElectricityPotential
(8760hours/year*Capacity Factor)
CapacityPotential = The electrical generating capacity, in megawatts, that can be
supported by a given bio-power feedstock.
Page 36
Identifying Effective Biomass Strategies:
Quantifying Minnesota’s Resources and Evaluating Future Opportunities