Abstract
As a major technical route to utilize biomass energy, biomass combustion power generation (BCPG) has been shown to be of environmental and economic significance. According to the operating experience, the installed capacity has a decisive impact on the operation and economic return of BCPG projects. In China, an installed capacity of either 30 MW or 12 MW is often chosen for constructing a BCPG project. To explore which one is more suitable for China, this paper uses actual operating data to compare the operation performance and techno-economics of two representative BCPG projects with an installed capacity of 30 MW and 12 MW. The results show that the operation situation and electricity production of the 30 MW project are better than those of the 12 MW project. The 30 MW project has a lower biomass consumption than the 12 MW project to produce per unit of electricity. The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the 30 MW project is greater than the industry benchmark in China and is almost three times the IRR of the 12 MW project. Therefore, it is recommended to construct BCPG projects with installed capacity of 30 MW in China.
Highlights
Countries have been developing renewable energy to substitute traditional fossil fuel energy, which releases heavy carbon emissions and pollution to the environment
In China, biomass combustion power generation (BCPG) projects grow very fast, and 30 MW or 12 MW are often chosen as the installed capacity for a new BCPG project
According to the analysis of the actual operating data, we justified that the operation performance of the 30 MW project is overall better than the 12 MW project
Summary
Countries have been developing renewable energy to substitute traditional fossil fuel energy, which releases heavy carbon emissions and pollution to the environment. Among various renewable energy resources, biomass is a promising one that can be converted into electricity, heat, liquid fuel, gas, hydrogen and chemicals through physical, chemical and biological technologies [1]. BCPG can not pollution, China is endeavoring to develop various technologies to utilize biomass. Studies on techno-economics of biomass energy utilization have been conducted in developed countries [19,20,21,22]. To fill the literature gap, using actual operating data from 1 January to 31 December 2017, this paper conducts a comparative study of two representative BCPG projects in China with different installed capacities—30 MW and 12 MW—to explore which one generates better operation and techno-economic performance
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