Adding gas from biomass to the gas grid - SGC

2 IMPORTANCE OF ADDING GAS FROM BIOMASS TO THE GAS GRID2.1 BIOMASS FOR ENERGYBiomass is one of the most important sources of renewable energy. The European Commissiondepicts in its 1997 White Paper ‘Energy for the Future: renewable sources of energy’ [lit.1] astrategy and action plan for the enhanced use of renewable energy sources. Table 1 summarisessome data from this White Paper. This paper distinguishes two energy products from biomass: heatand electricity. The paper assumes that all heat released from biomass is generated with anefficiency of 100%. The efficiency for the production of electricity is assumed to increase from 29%in 1995 to 33% in 2010. The heat generated in the production of electricity is not considered to beused. In practice a large part of the heat will find a useful application.Aspect 1995 2010Total utilised renewable energy sources PJ 3100 7600biomass for energy PJ 1870 5650contribution of biomass in the total of renewable energy sources % 60 74heat from biomass PJ 1590 3140biomass for electricity production PJ 280 2510electricity from biomass PJ 83 830conversion efficiency % 29 33Table 1: EC’s White Paper data on the growth of utilisation of the energy from biomassBiomass is the most important contributor to the growth in renewable energy sources. Between1995 and 2010 3780 PJ 1 of biomass capacity will be installed. The cost effectivity for using energyfrom biomass equals that of hydro and wind power but is better compared to other sources ofrenewable energy as photovoltaic or geothermal by a factor three to ten.Biomass for energy use can be found everywhere in nature. Biomass can also be generated forenergy use in the rehabilitation of regenerated lands, agroforestry, urban and community forestry.Energy plantations, when managed properly, can be successful, as already demonstrated in, forexample, Ethiopia and Brazil [lit.2]. Biomass is also a by-product in the production of food andtimber. These by-products, often more than 50% of the total input, constitute an important source ofsustainable energy.The technology of the conversion of biomass to energy can also be used to produce energy fromother organic waste (manure, plastics, tires, industrial wastes). Conversion of these organic wastesnot only contributes to the energy supply, but also reduces their adverse impact on the environment.The worldwide production of biomass on the land surface exceeds the energy consumption by afactor 100 [lit.3]. Only a part of this biomass is, by its remote location and dispersed nature,available for energy production. Even from the biomass available for energy production currently1Recalculated from Mtoe: million tonnes of oil equivalent: 1 Mtoe = 42 PJ; 1 PJ = 10 15 Joulepage: 4