How
much does bioenergy cost?
The
answer is as varied as the technologies and
forms of biomass under consideration. In short,
since there are different combinations of biomass
feedstocks and biomass conversion technologies,
the number of different estimates will equal
the number of different feedstock-technology
combinations.
Feedstocks
For self-use in the forest
products industry, which is the leading owner of
biomass generation in Michigan and Maine, biomass is essentially free.
Purchasing forestry-produced biomass will cost between
$0.50 and $3 per million Btu (mmBtu), with
economically successful projects paying less
than $1.50/mmBtu.
In
the agricultural residue sector,
the largest available sources of energy are
from corn stover
and wheat straw. Corn stover is presumed to
sell for
$30/ton. Wheat straw is more at $32-$54/ton [1], however the EIA estimates
that it only costs $20/bale for farmers to
recoup costs associated with lost nutrients
and transportation. By 2020, agricultural
and forestry residues will
be available at $5/mmbtu. [2].
Urban
wood waste and mill residues are
available at $1/mmBtu. The cost of collecting
urban wood waste and mill residues are currently
expected to range from $0-$8 per wet ton for
mill residues and from $10-14 per wet ton for
urban residues [2].
Burnable
municipal solid waste
(MSW) is usually landfilled
for a fee. Thus, it has a negative fuel price.
However, plant operators must process MSW to
eliminate toxics. They also need to install
emissions control equipment.
Dedicated
feedstocks, such as woody and herbaceous crops,
cost almost 3 times more than residues ($2.50
per Gigajoule [GJ] compared to $0.95/GJ). Energy
crops are available for $2.30/ million btu.
By
comparison, the cheapest coal costs
between $1.50 to $2 per mmBtu. Natural
gas costs $3
to $4 per mmBtu. Overall, biomass is competitive
when compared with other combustion fuels
available.
Power
• The
EIA predicts that the cost of power from conventional
biomass combustion will
be 5.1 cents
per kilowatt-hour, which is only slightly higher than the power generated from
fossil fuels at 2 cents-4.5
cents per kilowatt hour [3].
• Co-firing
biomass with coal is much cheaper, since the
power plant is already built and costs are
limited to the biomass fuel and its preparation
at the plant site. Costs can hover from almost nothing
to 3 cents per kilowatt-hour
for a project where biomass is 10% to 25% of the total fuel
input of the power plant.
• The cost of power from of landfill gas can range from 3.5 – 7.9
cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on the size of landfill, financing available,
distance from the grid or local application, and other factors.
Combined
Heat and Power
CHP represents an improvement in the energy
efficiency of power plants. Instead of
releasing steam and heat that are byproducts
of power generation, CHP systems
capture this energy. Thus, CHP’s cost is primarily capital costs for
installing equipment for energy capture. An estimate for the Powering the
South effort, which estimates clean energy potential in the South, finds
that CHP
projects will yield power that costs 3.3 cents per kWh in 2010.
Fuels
Biofuels
such as ethanol and biodiesel represent 3%
of the transportation fuels market in the United
States. [4]
• Biodiesel
based on soybeans can cost approximately $1.50
to $1.80 per gallon depending
on which
part of the country you are in [5]. Petroleum-based
diesel is selling for a national average
of $2.10 per gallon (May 2005 estimate) [6].
Below is a biofuel refueling station in California.
http://www.visionmagazine.com/feb05_vis_cafe.htm
 • Ethanol
costs about $1.20 per gallon,
which compares very favorably to petroleum-based
gasoline, again depending on where you are
in the United States [5]. Prices are higher
towards the coasts. Because ethanol gets less
miles
per gallon than gasoline,
to
get
a comparitive
price to gas, it must be multiplied
by 1.5. Even after this is done, the ethanol price only rises to $1.80/gallon,
whereas gasoline prices are skyrocketing well over $2.00/gallon, currently
at $2.16/gallon [6], and do not
look like they will be falling at any time soon.
• There
are already 146,000 cars that run on E85,
a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline [7].
These vehicles, known as flexible fuel vehicles
or FFVs, can also run on the traditional unleaded
gasoline should an E85 station not be available.
For more information on how to find out if
your car is an FFV, or for more info on the
E85 fuel, please visit the National
Ethanol Vehicle Coalition.
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