Greenhouse Effect Reduction in Biomass Power Plant: A Case Study

Abstract

Biomass power plants are among the renewable energy sources to which China is committed. These projects will reduce the greenhouse effect from biomass caused by natural decay and uncontrolled burning, and also will reduce greenhouse effect related to the burning of fossil fuel for power production. A case study of straw power generation project in Xiajin country, Shandong province of China is discussed in this paper. The project is going to be built as a CDM - Clean Development Mechanism - project, meaning that it will trigger CO2 credits which can be sold. The analyses are conducted based on methodology ACM0006 of CDM for the estimation of greenhouse effect reduction for the project's baseline. It is found that the project will reduce emissions of about 2.906 million tones of CO2e over the next 21-year lifetime, and at the same time, 150,000MWh electricity will be produced per year. The evaluation of prices at links of purchase and storage straws and economic performance are also discussed in this paper. I. INTRODUCTION In recent years, with the rapid development of economy and society, all countries are more and more concerned with energy and environment. Without energy, there will be no power for economic development; likewise, with environment destroyed, human's living space will be limited. Therefore, it is imperative to choose a new type of renewable energy resources and reduce environmental pollution. Biomass power plants are among the renewable energy sources to which China is committed, which will reduce the greenhouse effect from biomass caused by natural decay and uncontrolled burning, and also will cause greenhouse effect reduction related to the burning of fossil fuel for power production. Straw, a by-production in the production of agricultural crops, is a good kind of clean renewable energy with an average sulfur content of 3.8 ‰ far lower than 1% of coal. Straw utilization for power generation can effectively reduce air pollution. Besides, straw has high heat energy and the calorific value of two tons straw is equal to that of one ton coal (1). The clean development mechanism (CDM), defined in Kyoto Protocol, is a cost-effective instruments for mitigating global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Under CDM, developed countries, which have a commitment to reduce their GHG emissions, are allowed to fulfill part of their obligations by investing in emissions saving projects in developing countries, which make no similar commitment. The trade of investment for emission credits will serve to lower the cost of emission abatement in developed countries and achieve sustainable development in developing countries(2). In this study, a straw power generation project with Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) supporting in Xiajin country, Shandong province of China is analyzed with reference to greenhouse effect reduction from biomass residues. II. STRAW POWER GENERATION PROJECT A. Straw power generation project specification