Implementing Small
Scale Bioenergy
Systems
Oswego BOCES, Mexico, NY
November 13, 2008
Kamalesh Doshi, Program Director
Biomass Energy Resource Center
Biomass Energy
Resource Center (BERC)
BERC is a national not-for-profit organization working to
promote responsible use of biomass for energy.
BERC’s mission is to achieve a healthier environment,
strengthen local economies, and increase energy security
across the United States by developing sustainable biomass
systems at the community level.
Biomass: only renewable resource
that causes problems when NOT used!
WOOD FUEL COMPARISON:
Best Applications for Woodchips
• Larger facilities
• Where fuel cost savings are very important
• Larger facilities (more than 50,000 sq. ft.)
• Where there is room for: new boiler room, fuel
storage bin, tractor-trailer access
• In/near forested areas with an active forest
products industry
About how much wood will the new
community uses consume?
• One school
200-1,000 tons
• 30 Vermont schools
15,000 tons
• Middlebury College
30,000 tons
• Vermont state complex
5,000 tons
• Crotched Mountain campus
• Public housing (50 units)
All in green tons chips
3,000 tons
450 tons
Technologies –
Wood Residues to Energy
• Industrial process heat
• Building space heat (and DHW)
• District heat
• Combined heat and power (CHP)
• Utility-scale power plants
• Utility co-firing
Bioenergy Technology
Pathways
Combustion
Gasification
Synthesis Gas
Steam
Hot Gas
Gas Turbine
(>0.5 MW)
Steam
Turbine
(>1 MW)
•Lower efficiencies
•Greater air emissions
Internal
Combustion
Engine
(Up to 0.5 MW)
Gas Turbine
(>5 MW)
•Favorable economics
•Still in developmental stages
“Modern” Biomass Heating Systems
• Increased efficiency
• Lower emissions
• Lower time requirements
• Reliable operation
• Automated fuel handling
• Hot water boiler and heat distribution
Low-Cost Semi-Automated
Systems
On-slab fuel storage
Fuel moved with small loader
Day bin and small combustor
Low-Cost Hand-Fired
Systems
GARN Boiler
Wood Pellet
Boiler Systems
•
10,000 to 50,000 SF
•
Oil, propane, or electric
•
Natural gas only if price is
above average
•
Centralized heat
distribution system
Wood Storage & Delivery Container System
Boulder County Transportation
Technology Options for Biomass
Heating Systems
BIOMASS
FEEDSTOCKS
FEEDSTOCK
STORAGE
FEEDSTOCK
HANDLING
Woodchips
Below-grade bin
Fully
(hardwood, softwood,
bole, whole-tree chips)
Above-grade
(on slab storage)
Pellets
(Grass, sawdust,
agricultural residues)
Cordwood
Agricultural crops
(corn)
Silo (inside, under
a roof, or outside)
Roll off containers
HEAT
DISTRIBUTION
Hot water
automated
Steam
Semi
Hot air
automated
Manual loading
School Case Study
Barre City Elementary
Barre, Vermont
Size
158,000 square feet
1,000 students
Heating System
Woodchips
(converted from electric heat)
Fuel Use
847 tons in 2006-07
Annual Heating Cost
$39,782 in 2006-07
Wood Heating for Institutional and
Public Buildings
Hospital
State Office Building
New District/Campus Wood Energy
Crotched Mountain Rehab Center
Greenfield, New Hampshire
Community District Energy
SmallScale
Setting
Green Acres Family Housing
Educational Facility
Harris Center for
Conservation Education
Hancock, NH
•
10,000 SF heated space
•
9 ton storage silo
•
10-15 tons of pellets per year
•
75 minutes staff time per week
(during heating season)
•
Estimated 45% annual fuel cost
savings
Ways to Analyze Cost Effectiveness
All about
• Amount of savings generated
• At what project cost
Methods
• Simple payback
• Cash flow analysis
• Life-cycle cost analysis
Life Cycle Cost Analysis
A tool that compares the
cost of owning and
operating the existing
heating system to the
cost of purchasing,
installing, and operating
a new wood pellet
heating system.
•Set assumptions
•Collect data
•Define the project and its costs
•Equipment
•Construction
•Professionals fees & permits
•Annual fuel costs
Contact
Information
Kamalesh Doshi
Program Director
Biomass Energy Resource Center
43 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05601
802-223-7770 X 126
kdoshi@biomasscenter.org
www.biomasscenter.org
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