Biomass and central receiver system (CRS) hybridization: Integration of syngas/biogas on the atmospheric air volumetric CRS heat recovery steam generator duct burner

Abstract

Central receiver systems (CRS) are a promising concentrated solar power (CSP) technology for dis-patchable electricity generation. The CRS levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is usually increased by low power-block capacity factors or by high thermal storage costs. The economical turnover is still positive for the Portuguese case but depends on the bonus feedin tariffs. On the other hand, with biomass existing feed-in tariffs and raising prices, the viability of current biomass power plants is at risk. To address these issues, several base case power plants and hybrid biomass/CSP options are analyzed: wood gasification, refusederived fuel pellets, biogas from a wastewater anaerobic digester, biogas from a landfill and natural gas.The solution with lower LCOE was obtained for the hybridization of a 4 MWe CRS using an atmospheric volumetric receiver with biogas from an anaerobic digester using sludge from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Different results would be obtained for the hybrid systems if different CRS technologies are used. The hybrid CRS/anaerobic digester power plant LCOE is 0.15 €/kWh, returning the investment in 13 years (assuming sludge collection and transport without cost) with the best net present value (15 million euro) and internal rate of return of all the hybrid options.

Assessment of Biogas Plant Firms by Application of Annual Accounts and Financial Data Analysis Approach

“…Annual accounts analyzed in the research are mandatory documents for firms and are public documents, freely available for third parties, such as banks and suppliers that analyze annual account data to define their credit lines to firms involved in their respective businesses; annual account analysis could then be useful as the basis for investment and finance assessments. The evaluation indices proposed in the research may then allow for a proper assessment of the sustainability of the management cycle in renewable energy firms, which are often capital intensive and frequently use financial debt to cover fixed asset investments [38][39][40]; the results of the research could also be useful to analyze the use of public aid.…”

Technological assessment of different solar-biomass systems for hybrid power generation in Europe

“…One for integrating of 28.5 MWe from concentrated solar power plants ranging from 1.5MWe to 4MWe using different CSP technologies [10]. Another call was for of biomass power plants with an improvement in the feed-in tariff in 2010.…”

“…However, standalone solar energy plants have intermittent energy output due to day/night cycles, reduced irradiation periods during winter, cloudy days and transient clouds [11,15]. Although biomass power plants can operate continuously, they can have high initial cost, uncertain feedstock supply chain security, require the cost for infrastructure for bulk biomass storage and vehicles for transportation [10,12]. Hybrid solar-biomass plants will become an increasingly attractive option as the cost of fossil fuel and land rise at the same time as the cost of solar thermal technology continues to fall [7].…”

Investigation of thermodynamic performances for two solar-biomass hybrid combined cycle power generation systems

“…However, the inherent properties of the solar energy, like low energy density and intermittence, will affect its thermodynamics and economics behaviors, and restrict the applied scopes. In order to address these issues, the hybrid system concept may be a promising solution, and the drawbacks of the hybridized energies can be compensated by each other [11][12][13][14][15].…”