Renewable Energy Technology Assessments - Kauai Island Utility ...

Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative
Renewable Energy Technology Assessments
3.0 Renewable Energy Technology
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Figure 3-3. Alholmens Kraft Multi-Fuel CFB (Source: Kvaerner).
Resource Availability
For viability, the coal plant should be within 100 miles of a suitable biomass
resource. In the United States, which has the largest installed biomass power capacity in
the world, biomass power plants provide 6,200 MW of power to the national power grid.
Of the total electricity produced in 2001, coal accounted for 1.9 trillion kWh, or 51
percent. Conversion of as little as five per cent of this generation to biomass cofiring
would nearly quadruple electricity production from biomass.
Cost and Performance Characteristics
Table 3-4 provides typical characteristics for a cofired plant using biomass as
fuel. Three different fuel prices are included for comparison: $0/MBtu, $3/MBtu and
$6/MBtu. The zero cost fuel is indicative of a plant using a biomass fuel that the supplier
would otherwise need to dispose of. The highest price, $6/MBtu, is equivalent to a price
of about $100 per dry ton, which is at the very upper range of estimates for energy crops.
The final price, $3/MBtu is probably a reasonable estimate for the average price of
delivered biomass on the island. If biomass fuel is available at a lower cost than the
plant’s coal supply, biomass cofiring could actually result in cost savings at the plant and
a “negative cost” renewable energy resource. Further investigation would be required to
21 March 2005 3-12 Black & Veatch