Biomass electrical power, an oft overlooked Cinderella in the renewable energy sector, has been the subject of some significant press coverage in recent weeks. The Wall Street Journal ran an article Biomass Power Generates Traction that quoted US Dept of Energy statistics that predict that biomass, which is already used to produce more electrical power than wind in the USA, will expand sixfold in the next 20 years (wind capacity is predicted to expand fourfold over the same period).
This makes it an exciting time to be analyising the biomass potential across the USA as part of my externship project. It’s essential to get out in the field during this type of exercise, which is exactly what James and I have been doing. The photo below shows us at the 50MW Portsmouth biomass power plant in New Hampshire. The plant is fueled by woodchips and it consumes an average of 70t of chips an hour – not unlike a few Saltire Fellows I could mention.
I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Stanford University’s Global Climate and Energy Project a few years ago on a Churchill Travel Fellowship. Researchers from the GCEP published a thought provoking article in Science recently that argued that converting biomass to electricity to power electric cars was much more efficient and eco-friendly than converting biomass to transportation fuels. This pitches the cat right in amongst the pigeons as the USA’s biomass research has been largely focused on converting biomass to ethanol.
Next week James and I are off to Atlanta, Georgia (not on a midnight train but, thankfully, on a 2pm flight) for Veolia Energy’s annual business development conference.
Martyn
PS I hope this blog doesn’t induce hyperlink fatigue
On the supply side of the great power debate - Biomass is a pretty interesting topic. I wonder why we don't see any in scotland given that we have such huge swathes of forrestry and plenty of sawmills for the by-products to be diverted into bio-mass electricity generation.?
But I do worry about the demand side. So much is lost through transmission and distribution losses - that there must be an opportunity there. And what about the NOx and CO2 produced by burning what is still essentially a fossil fuel.
I'm sure the debate will rage on, but isn't this just a near-term solution to a mid-term problem...?
Good points Iain. Like most tech topics biomass electric power is a fascinating area when you start deep diving. There’s a succinct NREL presentation (www.nrel.gov/.../m_mann.pdf) that lists lifecycle emissions data.
Biomass plants emit five times fewer NOx than coal. There’s even an argument that, currently, the sector is carbon negative as the fuel is predominantly derived from forest industry waste that would have been left to rot in the forest. It’s not the silver bullet (Cinderella’s not the only fairy story in town) the world’s looking for, but it could be part of the solution and it definitely provides an opportunity to make money.
Now, we haven’t even touched on the food vs biomass debate……!
Looking forward to catching up at the Swiss entrepreneurs session on Thursday evening.
Good points Iain. Like most tech topics biomass electric power is a fascinating area when you start deep diving. There’s a succinct NREL presentation that lists lifecycle emissions data. Biomass plants emit five times fewer NOx than coal. There’s even an argument that, currently, the sector is carbon negative as the fuel is predominantly derived from forest industry waste that would have been left to rot in the forest. It’s not the silver bullet (Cinderella’s not the only fairy story in town) the world’s looking for, but it could be part of the solution and it definitely provides an opportunity to make money.
Iain's comments reminded me of a lovely visit to Bonawe Iron Furnace near Oban:
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/.../propertyoverview.htm
The furnace was located there partly because of the suitability of the location for coppicing willow - so there's a history of sustainable biomass fuelled industry in Scotland going back hundreds of years.
I am fascinated by the whole field of renewable energy, and the more I hear the more Martyn's words about fairy stories ring true. I'd love to get involved in a cleantech project that could survive on merit without the need for the beautifully described "greenwash"!
Ian