The Future of Global Biomass Power Generation: The technology, economics and impact of biomass power generation

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Introduction

Global biomass reserves

Energy crops

Biomass conversion technologies

Environmental implications

The economics of biomass power generation

The future

Chapter 1 Introduction

Summary

Introduction

Electricity from biomass

Sources of biomass fuel

The structure of the report

Chapter 2 Global biomass resources

Summary

Introduction

Residues

Crop residues

Livestock residues

Forestry residues

Urban waste

Fuelwood

Energy crops

Chapter 3 Energy cropsSummary

Introduction

Types of energy crop

Raising an energy crop

Harvesting and transportation

Yields

Chapter 4 Biomass energy conversion

technologies

Summary

Introduction

Direct firing of biomass

Stoker combustors

Suspension combustion

Fluidized bed combustion

Steam cycle improvements

Fuel handling

Whole tree system

Co-firing

Biomass gasification

Integrated gasification combined cycle

Biomass fuel cell power plant

Anaerobic biomass decomposition

Biomass digesters

Chapter 5 The environmental effects of

biomass power generation

Summary

Introduction

The carbon cycle and atmospheric warming

Biomass and carbon dioxide

Atmospheric emissions

Life cycle assessment

Energy crops

Waste fuel

Agricultural wastesForestry residues

Urban waste

Chapter 6 The economics of biomass power

generation

Summary

Introduction

Technology costs

Co-firing

Direct-fired biomass plant

Biomass gasification

Landfill gas

Fuel costs

Californian biomass costs

Individual waste fuel costs

Energy crops

Delivered fuel costs

Generation costs

Chapter 7 The prospects for biomass power

generation

Summary

Introduction

Biomass power generation development

Cogeneration

Drivers and resistors

Drivers

Environment

Security

Economics

Waste disposal

Renewable quotas and green certificates

Resistors

Technology

Agricultural infrastructure

Power industry inertia

Regulatory barriers

Financial risk

The future

Conclusion

Index and References

Index

References

List of Figures

Figure 2.1: Global agricultural residues, 1987

Figure 4.2: The efficiency of biomass combustion technologies

Figure 7.3: European biomass generating capacity by year

List of Tables

Table 1.1: Current biomass generating capacity

Table 2.2: Global agricultural residues, 1987 (EJ)

Table 2.3: Global bagasse residues

Table 2.4: Global livestock residues, 1987 (EJ)

Table 2.5: Total fuelwood production, 1999

Table 3.6: Annual energy crop yields in the US

Table 3.7: Annual energy crop yields across the world

Table 4.8: Biomass combustion technologies

Table 5.9: Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations

Table 5.10: Typical atmospheric emissions from combustion power plants kg/MWh

Table 5.11: Power plant total energy balance

Table 6.12: The cost of biomass and coal-fired technologies

Table 6.13: The cost of waste fuel in California

Table 6.14: The cost of US waste biomass

Table 6.15: The cost of US biomass fuels

Table 6.16: The cost of biomass plantation fuel

Table 7.17: Biomass power generation targets, 2020

Table 7.18: European biomass generating capacity by year

Table 7.19: European biomass generating capacity compared against other power generation technologies