Biomass pellets for power generation in India: a techno-economic evaluation

Pallav Purohit,Vaibhav Chaturvedi

doi:10.1007/s11356-018-2960-8

Abstract

Modern bioenergy is being recognized as an increasingly important low-carbon resource by policy-makers around the world to meet climate policy targets. In India also, there is a clear recognition of the significant role of bioenergy in electricity generation as well as in other applications. In this study, a preliminary attempt has been made to assess the techno-economic feasibility of biomass pellets-based power (BPBP) generation in India. Surplus availability of biomass feedstock from agriculture and forestry/wasteland sector is estimated at 242 million tonnes (Mt) for 2010–11 and is expected to rise to 281 Mt in 2030–31 due to increased crop production and associated waste/residue availability. In terms of related capacity, the potential of BPBP projects is estimated at 35 GW for 2030–31. The associated carbon dioxide mitigation potential resulting from the substitution of coal is estimated at 205 Mt in 2030–31 if the entire biomass surplus is to be diverted for power generation. The levelized cost of electricity is estimated at €0.12 per kWh for BPBP projects as compared to €0.10 per kWh for imported coal based power plants. For states with the lower tariff for biomass power, the break-even price of carbon for BPBP projects is estimated at €18 per tonne. Additionally, BPBP projects will generate employment of more than 5 million person-months in the construction of biomass power plants and over 200,000 full-time employments in the operation of BPBP plants and in the production of biomass pellets.

Highlights

Bioenergy is the largest renewable energy source with 14% out of 18% renewables in the energy mix (WEC 2016) and supplies 10% of global energy supply (IEA 2016)
Our preliminary estimates indicate that the biomass pellet production process could generate 224,000 full-time employments in biomass pelletization and in the transportation of agricultural and forestry residues if the entire biomass surplus were diverted to the biomass pellets route
In India there is a clear recognition of the significant role of bioenergy in electricity generation as well as in other applications

Summary

Introduction

Bioenergy (including traditional biomass) is the largest renewable energy source with 14% out of 18% renewables in the energy mix (WEC 2016) and supplies 10% of global energy supply (IEA 2016). Most of this is consumed in developing countries for cooking and heating, using traditional cook stoves, with considerable impact on human health The annual growth of biomass pellet production has been close to 20% over the last decade (WBA 2014) and has increased considerably in recent years, mainly due to the demand created by policies and EU’s bioenergy use targets (Dwivedi et al 2014). Wood pellet production and export from southeast of the USA have doubled since 2011 (Prestemon et al 2015; Hanssen et al 2017) primarily due to EU demand (Abt et al 2014) making the region one of the largest global wood pellet suppliers to the EU (Hoefnagels et al 2014)

Results

Discussion

Conclusion