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Biomass Energy Centre
Opportunities for land managers to enter
the bioenergy supply chain
West Midlands Bioenergy Conference
December 2008
Aim of the presentation
• Give an overview of biomass fuel types
• Describe the basics of the biomass
market
• Brief description of perennial energy
Crops
• Brief description of anaerobic digestion
• Give details of where to get further
information
Biomass as a fuel
• Logs and wood chips
from woodlands
• Miscanthus and SRC
• Sawdust and off cuts
from wood processing
• Dry agricultural
residues - straw
• Food wastes, slurries
• Oil seed crops and
cereals for liquid biofuel
production
How is biomass being used?
• Most common application is heat production
using woodchips, logs or pellets
• Typical scale is between 100 - 1000kW
(around 2000 installations at present)
• Generally a single boiler in a single building
• Growing interest and application of ‘district
heating’ systems
• Industrial scale co-firing and ‘biomass only’
power generation (~6 biomass only power
stations in operation, ~12 planned)
Forestry Commission’s Strategy
• 2 million tonnes of
woodfuel from
privately owned,
undermanged
woodland
• Equivalent to
250,000 homes
worth of energy
How can I supply this market?
• Use thinnings, poor quality trees
• Allow to dry ‘in the round’
• Chip using a woodfuel grade chipper
• Keep chips dry - make sure they match
boiler specification and follow industry
standards
Drying round wood prior to chipping
Producing good quality chips• Use a woodfuel grade
chipper - inconsistent
chip size can block
augers
• Moisture content is
critical
• CEN standards
developed for use
across Europe
• Chippers are
expensive - consider
hiring in unless you
have large quantities
to process
Is woodchip competitive with
other fuels?
• Market price varies considerably £50 - £90 per
tonne delivered typical
• Price of oil ~4.0p per kWh (@ 40p per litre)
• Gas price currently around ~ 4.0p per kWh
• 1 tonne of 30% MC woodchips contains 3500
kWh of energy
• Paying anything less than £120 per tonne of
chips is competitive with oil and gas at today’s
prices
Wood chip production costs
Variations in the cost of producing woodchips
0
20
40
60
80
100
system
1
system
2
system
3
system
4
system
5
system
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system
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system
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system
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system
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system
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system
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co
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per
ton
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Adding value - selling heat
• ‘Energy Supply Company’
(ESCo)
• Attractive to end users -
they do not have to worry
about sourcing fuel
• User billed according to
kWh of heat used - recorded
by a ‘heat meter’
• Watch out for ‘heat
incentive’ - being developed
now.
Capital cost
• Biomass systems often much more expensive than
fossil fuel counterparts
• DECC ‘bioenergy capital grant’
• Aimed at ‘industrial and community sectors that are
considering investing in biomass-fuelled heat
and/or combined heat and power projects,
including anaerobic digestion’
• Covers ‘up to 40% of the difference in the cost of
installing biomass…..compared to fossil fuel
alternative’. Max single award £500k
• www.bioenergycapitalgrants.org.uk
Energy Crops
• Generally refers to willow short rotation
coppice and Miscanthus
• Energy Crop Scheme grant available via
Natural England - 40% of establishment cost
• Generally associated with larger scale power
plants (E.ON at Lockerbie, SembCorp in the
North East, Eccleshall West Mids) or co-firing
• Some examples of small scale heat in the
region (Lionel Hill)
• Economics investigated by NNFCC
Short Rotation Coppice
• Plant spring year 1
• Cutback winter year
1-2
• Harvest every 3
years
• Yields 8 odt per ha
per year
• Needs specialised
harvester and
planter
Miscanthus• Plant spring year 1
• 1st harvest winter year
2 -3
• Annual harvest there
after (usually baled)
• Yields ~ 10 odt ha yr
from year 3
• Similar to a
conventional
agricultural crop
• Eccleshall in W.
Midlands
Anaerobic digestion
• Uses animal slurries, food waste, sewage
sludge, maize or grass silage to generate
‘Biogas’ (methane and carbon dioxide)
• Gas powers combustion engine, end
products are power and heat
• Could earn tradeable ‘renewable energy
certificates’
• Digestate could be used as a soil
conditioner - properties dependant on
feedstock
In conclusion
• Biomass is an established fuel and is here
to stay
• Can be economically viable
• Matching fuel quality to the end market is
paramount
• Can use existing resources or dedicated
crops
Sources of information• Biomass Energy Centre
www.biomassenergycentre.org.uk
• Forestry Commission
www.forestry.gov.uk/england-woodfuel
• Heartwoods
www.heartwoods.co.uk
• Marches wood energy network
www.mwen.org.uk
• Bioenergy West Midlands
www.bioenergywm.co.uk
• West midlands woodland & forestry forum
www.growingourfuture.org
• National Non Food Crop Centre
www.nnfcc.co.uk