Re: GAS-L: A plague of criticism, any solutions?

[FMurrl@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/1/02 6:32:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time, venusengineers@eth.net writes:

I think we need to take a nuanced approach and desist from making sweeping generalisations about gasification economics which may not be valid for all countries. While it is true that the cost of biomass harvesting (a labour intensive activity) in developed economies may be quite high and the soil productivity lower thus rendering the cost advantage unattractive, the situation in India (and other tropical countries) is entirely different.

For instance, we have installed several gasification systems for both thermal and electrical applications (replacing fossil fuels such as Light Diesel Oil, High Speed Diesel & Heavy Furnace Oil) at various geographical locations in India, and in most cases the total capital investment has been recovered from 12-18 months. The brief economics are as follows. I have given the figures in US currency (and in Indian Rs. in brackets) considering exchange rate of Rs. 48/00 per US $.

Mr. Krisnaswamy:

Thanks for your note. I am glad that you ignored your own advice, and provided the details on your specific application. I personally feel that we need such specifics, rather than just generalizations. In fact, I disagree that my comments were generalizations. In fact, I believe that I said that my comments were limited to our experience in North America, based on North American costs and US tax structure.

On the other hand, I am always interested in hearing about other jurisdictions where biomass is currently viable. It gives one hope.

For those of us in the US, we will have to await the will of Congress and the pending energy legislation.

Right now, it appears that large megawatt biomass systems await either the right tax structure (e.g. Section 45, IRC) or the right Renewable Portfolio Standard (currently in a handful of states, and under consideration by the federal congress).

Regards,
Fred Murrell
Biomass Development Co.
Bradenton Florida
www.biomassdev.com