Biomass Heat & Power

Successful biomass projects require the favorable alignment of many development elements from fuel supply to environmental acceptance. When available at competitive prices, biomass fuels offer power generation companies the opportunity to lower fuel costs and improve environmental profiles. Clean biomass fuels are typically lower in ash, nitrogen, sulfur, and heavy metals compared to coal, and successful projects often experience delivered prices below their current fuel costs. Although most biomass fuels find their way into smaller industrial cogeneration or heating applications, there are examples of utility scale plants with capacities in excess of 80 MW.

As the green power / renewable energy markets gain momentum, interest in biomass power is on the rise. Technology options now under consideration by ANTARES clients range from traditional Rankine -cycle, standalone plants, to advanced biomass gasification-based biorefineries that incorporate the production of fuels, chemicals, and power. Although the primary driver to consider biomass fuels has been its potential to lower production costs of electricity, fuels, or chemicals; carbon markets, renewable energy certificates, or renewable power mandates, are emerging as important motivators as well. Biomass power opportunities, including landfill gas projects, can often supply reliable, base-load power at lower costs and larger capacities. In some applications, such as biomass-coal cofiring, the cost of renewable power is only marginally above the cost to produce electricity from coal alone.