GAS-L: Wood fired power plants math

[Peter Singfield <snkm@btl.net>]

Dear Jerry and all other listers!

Let's put on the engineering cap!

We still do not know what efficiencies -- and that makes all the difference
when "BUYING" biomass as fuel.

I searched my archives and dug this up -- call this a blast from the past!
(appended in entirety)

"Hi Peter, the efficiency of the Mcneil Station is 25% on a HHV basis.  Steam 
conditions are 1275 psi, 950 F.  Boiler efficiency is 70% with wood at 50% 
content.  Wood moisture has veried from 39% to 50%, and averaged about 45%."


Quite "enlightening". From those figures we can derive everything! Anyone
want to try??

"Wood moisture has veried from 39% to 50%, and averaged about 45%."

Question listers -- does that mean 55% wood and 45% water??

If so -- and quick and dirty --

8200 btu/lb * 55% = 4510 btu/lb "net" energy.

25% over all efficiencies -- so

4510 * .25 = 1127.5 btu as power out.

One ton -- 2000 lbs = 2000 * 1127.5 = 2,255,000

2,225,000/3414.4 = 660 kwh of "product" per ton of "green" wood.

So -- at 25% over all plant efficiency -- paying say $25 per ton of green
wood fuel:

Cost of fuel per kwh =

25.00 / 660 = 3.7 cents US per kwh!!

Or -- also from my archives:

How much fuel does the McNeil Station use?

The amount of wood used depends on the operating conditions of the plant.
To run McNeil at full load, approximately 76 tons of wholetree chips are
consumed per hour. That amounts to about 30 cords per hour (there are about
2.5 tons of chips per cord of green wood). When the plant is operating at
full load on gas, it uses 550,000 cubic feet of gas per hour.

How much electricity is produced?

At full load, the plant can generate 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity. This
is enough power to run 500,000 100-watt light bulbs or nearly enough
electricity for Burlington-Vermont's largest city. By comparison, the
McNeil Station is only one-tenth the size of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear
Power Station which generates 528 megawatts.

******************

76 tons per hour = 50 megawatts.

So -- 76 * $25 = $1900

$1900/50,000 = 3.8 cents per kwh fuel costs at $25 ton delivered.

Hey guys -- my quick estimates are right in there!

A normal biomass waste fired power plant gets between 3 to 10% over all
efficiencies. 5% is a very realistic number -- 

At 5% over all plant efficiency -- and paying $25 US per ton (delivered to
plant!!) for biomass -- would mean a fuel cost of:

18.9 cents US per kwh!!

Ergo Cornelius -- the most important question is -- plant over all
efficiencies.

Surely -- as an accountant -- you can see this?? 

But just what kind of power plant is that California dealy?? It could be an
efficient fluid bed design as the one I referred John Irving to and he
mentions visiting in Finland (Home of Arnt!) (see appended)

Let's see what my archives have to say about that --

FOSTER WHEELER IS AWARDED $17 MILLION CONTRACT
TO SUPPLY SWEDISH DISTRICT HEATING/POWER PLANT 

CLINTON, N.J., July 13, 1998--Foster Wheeler Corporation announced that
Sweden's Sala-Heby Energi AB has awarded a turnkey contract of
approximately $17 million to Foster Wheeler Energia Oy for a power plant to
supply district heating and electricity for the towns of Sala and Heby,
located about 75 miles northwest of Stockholm. 

Based in Finland, Foster Wheeler Energia Oy is an operating company of
United States-headquartered Foster Wheeler Energy International, Inc. 

Scope of project for Foster Wheeler includes the entire power plant:
design, engineering, project management, bubbling fluidized-bed (BFB)
boiler, turbine, generator, civil works, automation, electrification and
other equipment. 

The biofueled (wood chips) BFB boiler, the thirteenth delivered to projects
in Sweden by Foster Wheeler Energia Oy in recent years, will generate 9.5
MW of electricity to Sala-Heby's electrical network and 20 MW of district
heat to the city of Sala. 

Work on the project, which highlights Foster Wheeler Energia Oy's position
as a major supplier of turnkey power plants in Scandinavia, is starting
immediately and the plant is scheduled to be completed in April of 2000. 

Foster Wheeler Energy International, Inc. designs and fabricates
steam-generating equipment for electric utilities, industrial users and
public authorities globally. The company is one of the world's leading
suppliers of fluidized-bed boilers. 

Foster Wheeler Corporation is a global company offering a broad range of
design, engineering, construction, manufacturing, project development and
management, research, plant operations and environmental services. The
Corporation's headquarters are at Clinton, N.J. 

***********************

Ok -- we have this "meat" to work with:

"will generate 9.5 MW of electricity to Sala-Heby's electrical network and
20 MW of district heat"

In another paper -- they claim 89% gasifier efficiency. That means a flue
loss of 11%.

so worse case guesstimate --

Total energy out is:  

9.5 + 20 = 29.5

9.5/29.5 = 32% cycle efficiencies!

Knock off 11% leaves: 28.5% over all plant efficiency!!

Now -- if that is what California is giving away -- jump on it!!

Now -- the above system -- for 9.5 MWe was quoted at $1100 per kwh capital
costs to John Irving in summer 1999.

At 28.5% efficiencies -- green wood at $25 per ton delivered would mean a
fuel cost of:

4510 * .285 = 1285 btu as power out.

One ton -- 2000 lbs = 2000 * 1285 = 2,570,000

2,570,000/3414.4 = 752.7 kwh of "product" per ton of "green" wood.

So -- at 25% over all plant efficiency -- paying say $25 per ton of green
wood fuel:

Cost of fuel per kwh =

25.00 / 752.7 = 3.3 cents US per kwh!!

***************************

And -- let me leave the list with this --

Know anyone that would be happy delivering hard wood chips (as the Mcneil
Station in Vermont's requires or this FW gasifier) for just $25.00 US per
ton!!

Bottom line folks -- bottom line!!!

We would be so happy to get a price such as this for our fallen wood down
South here in Belize -- even if we had to chip it!!

But folks would go bankrupt at that price in the USA.

(Shades of BECHTEL and technology transferring to 3rd world business -- but
also shade of Tom T. -- and politics -- especially in 3rd world -- offers
no contracts!)


Now -- anyone finding mistakes in all the above figuring -- please correct
me!!

Belize buys 20 megawatts continuously from Mexico for an average price
ranging from 7 to 9 cents US per kwh!!

Yet the power company that controls the grid here in Belize -- Fortis
(Canada) Corporation refuses to buy from any local supplier!!

Now -- that is the kind of "politics" that is eating away at world economy --

Fortis prides itself on being a smart engineering company -- they are in
Kevin's back yard so to speak -- and they are asses!!

If we were paying our people here to bring wood to make power we would be
solving an enormous developing foreign exchange problem! If we could sell
for 7 cents US -- bottom Mexican import price -- we could do this easy!!

It is never about what is best for all concerned -- it is about "control"
-- and "greed".

But Fortis is going to "Greed" itself to bankruptcy -- as where does it
think it is going to find all that foreign exchange to pay Mexico for that
20 megawatts!!

Maybe this self professed smart Engineering firm needs to get together with
an accountant like Cornelius??

If we can't stand together -- we will fall -- and brother -- falling we are!

Peter in Belize

****************read below**********

Return-Path: <JIRVING104@aol.com>
From: JIRVING104@aol.com
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 10:56:54 EST
Subject: Re: Vermont Gasification Project
To: snkm@btl.net

Hi Peter, the efficiency of the Mcneil Station is 25% on a HHV basis.  Steam 
conditions are 1275 psi, 950 F.  Boiler efficiency is 70% with wood at 50% 
content.  Wood moisture has veried from 39% to 50%, and averaged about 45%.  
Thanks for the tips on Foster Wheeler.  I visited a FW plant last year in 
Finland which was a 10mwe district heating with a bubbling bed boiler that 
was built for 1100$US/kwe.  John

***********************


At 01:25 PM 11/16/2001 -0800, you wrote:
>      Hi Leyland and All,
>        The university must be too lazy to find their
>own customers!!!
>       They can/ could have made $.08/.10 kwhr if they
>did. Apparently they don't teach economics there. The
>extra money could be used for more research,ect.
>      Customers would be local cities, counties,
>hospitals or other large users. 
>      They can cut costs and increase profits by just
>generating in the peak hours. Also the savings of
>producing it's own electricity rather than buying it
>from the power co would be a good profit too. Also
>sell it to other schools/ universities.
>      They apparently don't do much critical thinking
>there!
>                 jerry dycus            
>
>--- LINVENT@aol.com wrote:
>
>     One specific instance which biomass has suffered
>> immeasurably is the 
>> pricing of power. 
>>     As an example, a major university in California
>> was donated a 20 MWe 
>> biomass power plant, stoker-boiler-turbine. It sells
>> to the grid. The 
>> operating cost is $.045 and are selling the power to
>> the grid at $.038, 
>> losing money on every kilowatt sold. That is without
>> debt service cost. 
>> Imagine the cost with debt service cost. Ouch! So,
>> this is a major reason why 
>> biomass is not particularly exciting to project
>> developers. Of course, the 
>> utilities are trying to recoup their losses so the
>> retail costs are way up 
>> there. 
>>     
>> 
>>     
>> 
>> Sincerely,
>> Leland T. Taylor
>>  President
>>  Thermogenics Inc. 
>> 7100-2nd St. NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87107 
>> phone 505-761-1454 fax 505-761-1456
>
>
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