Page 1
5/27/2013
1
29th May 2013
Dr. William MezzulloProject Development Manager
Future Biogas Limited
Development & Commissioning of a Biomethane Project
Introduction to Future Biogas
• Background
• Brief overview of installations and pipeline
Status of UK Renewable Energy Policy
• Current Renewable Energy Policy & Tariffs
• Focus on Biogas & Biomethane
Technical & Regulatory Considerations of Biomethane Projects
• How to connect an AD plant to the gas grid
• Summary of experiences to date
• Issues encountered and lessons learnt
Discussion Overview
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 1
Page 2
5/27/2013
2
About Us
Future Biogas• A UK leader in the development and operation of
biomass AD plants
• Founded in 2008 – now a team of 23 staff
• First plant (1.4MWelec) generating since Summer 2011
• Second plant generating Feb 2012 (1.56MWelec)
• First biomethane plant commissioning 2013
• Two further biomethane plants to commission in 2014
• Close links to government and trade associations to influence development of the biogas market
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 2
Spring Farm Norwich – 1.4MWelec
Reepham RoadNorwich – 1.6MWelec
Vulcan Way Doncaster – 4.5MWgas
HibaldstowLincolnshire - 4.5MWgas
ScottowNorfolk - 2.2MWelec
EgmereNorfolk – 4.5MWgas
Biomethane Injection Sites Electrical Sites
Sites across UK
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 3
Page 3
5/27/2013
3
Spring Farm, Taverham• Operational 2011• Power for over 3,000 homes
Reepham Road, Taverham• Operational 2012• Heat to adjacent Abattoir
Spring Farm and Reepham Road:• Annual carbon saving of 13,000 t CO2
• Working closely with 20+ local farmers Technology choice and biogas operations/support
• Crop opportunity for poor land
• Break for vegetable production
• HLS grass and Norwich Airport lawn!
• Perennials, biogas wildflowers and high energy grasses on trial
• Working on biofumigation, digestate starter fertiliser for OSR and nitrification inhibitors
Operational Sites
Vulcan Way• Doncaster (4.5MWgas)
• Operational 2013
Scottow• Lincolnshire (2MWelectrical)
• Operational 2013
Commissioning Sites
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 6
Page 4
5/27/2013
4
How renewables are incentivized in the UK?
Status of UK Policy
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 7
EU Renewable Energy Target 20% by 2020
UK Renewable Transport Target10% by 2020
UK Renewable Elec. Target15% by 2020
UK Renewable Elec. Target15% by 2020
RTFO FIT ROC RHI
Liquid BiofuelsBiogas
WindPVHydroBiogas
WindAll biomassGeothermalLandfillSewageTidalWaveHydroBiogas
Biomass CombustionBiogas CombustionDeep GeothermalGround Source Heat PumpSolar Hot WaterBiomethane
Renewables Obligation (RO)• Financial mechanism incentivising large
scale
• Clean generators receive 0.25-2 ROCs/MWh (Renewables Obligation Certificates) AD is in top band at 2 ROCs/MWh
• Fossil generators buy ROCs to compensate for carbon emissions
Tariffs for Biogas
• Value of ROCs currently £46.21($71.80)/MWh
Biogas for Electricity
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 8
Feed in Tariff (FiT)• Small-scale <5MW
• Inflation linked tariff for 20 years
Tariffs for Biogas
• Current tariffs for anaerobic digestion are grouped as;
• <250kW – 15.15p/kWh ($0.24/kWh)
• 250-500kW – 14.02p/kWh ($0.22/kWh)
• >500kW – 9.24p/kWh ($0.14/kWh)
Degression
• 5% annual degression + capacity trigger degression
• May fall by 20% next April for <500kW
Page 5
5/27/2013
5
Supports
• Biomethane injection to the gas grid
• Biogas combustion below 200kW (direct or through CHP)
Tariffs for Biogas/Biomethane
• Biogas combustion – 7.3/kWh ($0.11/kWh)
• Biomethane Injection – 7.3/kWh ($0.11/kWh)
Future
• Expansion of combustion/CHP tariff to >200kW by April 2014
• Planned degression – too early too tell when this will happen
Biomethane or Biogas Combustion
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 10
Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
Connecting AD to Gas Grid
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 11
Who is your GDN? Virtual Gas Market
Producers/ Importers
National Grid
GDNs
150 + Shippers, Gas Companies,Oil Companies, Banks and Traders
Page 6
5/27/2013
6
Connecting AD to Gas Grid
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 12
Is gas injection a viable option?Available capacity in the grid
• Limiting factor will be existing gas consumption at low demand Will CV enrichment be required?
Costs of physical connection
• Distance from site to gas pipe (metres or kilometres?)
• What type of gas pipe? (low/medium/high pressure)?
Will it work
• Gas demand for lifetime of the project?
• Do the figures stack up (connection costs + CV enrichment) vs return?
Biomethane injection will be limited by the existing minimum demand of natural gas along a pipe. i.e. during the night in summer months.
Connecting AD to Gas Grid
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 14
Biomethane to Grid - equipment
Biogas Plant
Gas Pipe
Upgrade Check
Page 7
5/27/2013
7
Connecting AD to Gas Grid
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 15
Clean Up Plant - Considerations Recovery Rate & Biomethane Quality
• Recovery Rate – how much CH4 can be recovered from biogas
• Methane quality – was is the purity of biomethane
Efficiency
• Electrical consumption (membrane = 0.3-0.4 kWhelec/m3 raw biogas, chemical absorption = 0.6 kWhelec/m3 raw biogas)
• Heat requirement high for some chemical washes
• Operating uptime, performance guarantees
Methane Slip
• Primary consideration due to UK Sustainability Requirements
• No more than 0.5% (otherwise use Thermal Oxidizer)
Biogas Plant
Gas Pipe
Upgrade Check
Why is this needed?
• UK natural gas grid operates between 37MJ/m3 to 42.3MJ/m3 (average =39.5MJ/m3)
• CH4 (100% quality biomethane is only 37.7MJ/m3)
• May not be relevant in Canada
Costs
• Propane injection equipment – approximately £110k
• Significant OPEX (up to £130k/annum for a 420m3/hr injection site)
Is there a solution?
• Yes – if gas pipe flow rate is large enough blending
• Yet to become common practice in the UK
Connecting AD to Gas Grid
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 16
Propane Injection
Biogas Plant
Gas Pipe
Upgrade Check
Page 8
5/27/2013
8
Connecting AD to Gas Grid
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 17
Entry Facility
What is it?
• To ensure that gas entering GDN is acceptable in terms of quality, odour, pressure and flowrate
• Telemetry monitored by GDN and AD plant operator
Why do we need it?
• Requirement from GDN - obligatory
How much is it?
• Much work carried out by UK biogas Industry to reduce the CAPEX of these units. Originally costing in the region of £1million
• Typical cost is around £300k – although thesupply market is very limited
Biogas Plant
Gas Pipe
Upgrade Check
Connecting AD to Gas Grid
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 18
Grid Control & ROV
What is it?
• A valve!
Why do we need it?
• GDN owned equipment to safeguard their network
• Default valve position is shut until acceptable gas is achieved
How much is it?
• Although it is GDN owned, the AD developer must pay
• Approximately £130k
Biogas Plant
Gas Pipe
Upgrade Check
Page 9
5/27/2013
9
Biogas to Biomethane Flow
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 19
Progress
• Broke Ground – September 2012
• Upgrade Facility expected June 2013
• Injection date – August 2013
Doncaster Biomethane Project
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 20
May 2013March 2013December 2013September 2012
Page 10
5/27/2013
10
Statistics
Doncaster Biomethane Project
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 21
Plant Capacity & Information
• Agraferm – AD technology supplier
• Up to 35,000 tpa (4MWgas + 500kWelec CHP)
• Agricultural feedstocks: grasses, rotational breakcrops (sugar beet, sunflower, maize, rye), plusbiodiversity friendly feedstocks (wildflower
mixes, szarvasi grass – perennial crop)
Biomethane Upgrading
• Air Liquide membrane technology
• Elster Grid Entry Unit
• Flogas – Propane Injection
Issues Encountered
Doncaster Biomethane Project
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 22
Acceptable Oxygen Limit
• All biomethane has an oxygen component
• UK Oxygen limit in the network is 0.2% (Germany has 2-3%)
• Stringent limit needs to be relaxed in order to facilitate injection
Propane Addition
• Blending biomethane with natural gas eliminates need for propane
• This is possible but GDNs are reluctant to date
• Fossil gas use reduces the carbon credentials of biomethane
Page 11
5/27/2013
11
Issues Encountered
Doncaster Biomethane Project
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 23
Ownership of Equipment
• ROV and Telemetry Unit was originally designed to be included in the Grid Entry Unit
• UK gas regulator changed regulation on this forcing GDN ownership of ROV Telemetry Unit
• This has additional expense and issues with ownership
Biomethane from Waste
• Biomethane produced from waste AD has several other layers of regulation
• Stringent limits on Siloxanes and Odour Masking
• Biomethane produced from waste AD is considered a ‘waste’ until it passes Biomethane Quality Protocol
Selling Biomethane
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 24
Biomethane sales
• Biomethane can also be sold onto the gas market to gain additional income to the RHI
• Sales are extremely limited at present (only 1 commercial biomethane plant)
• Large gas shipper not able to trade below 5,000 therms/day – more than any current plant
• Novel biomethane trading schemes developed
Certification
• Certification schemes help differentiate biomethane to natural gas
• Certification schemes widely available across Europe, theUK has two:
• Green Gas Certificates
• Biomethane Certification Scheme
Status of biomethane market
Page 12
5/27/2013
12
Summary
27/05/2013 William Mezzullo 25
UK Policy
• Incentives for biogas to electricity have been present and operating successfully (through FIT) since 2010
• Strong incentives for biomethane injection present within the UK
• Technological & regulatory challenges have slowed deployment to date
Lessons learnt from developing a biomethane project
• Close relationship with GDN is essential – they must be part of the project
• Lifecycle GHG emissions are extremely important when select
• Communication amongst technology suppliers is key. This includes:
• AD technology, upgrade technology, grid injection technology, propane equipment, GDN, gas pipe installers
Thank you to CNG Services for their support
Dr. William MezzulloProject Development Manager
Future Biogas Limited
[email protected] +44 (0) 1483 375 930
Thank you
