2008 West Midlands Bioenergy Conference Harper Adams University College

1. Biomass Energy Centre
Opportunities for land managers to enter
the bioenergy supply chain
West Midlands Bioenergy Conference
December 2008

2. Aim of the presentation
• Give an overview of biomass fuel types
• Describe the basics of the biomass
market
• Brief description of perennial energy
Crops
• Brief description of anaerobic digestion
• Give details of where to get further
information

3. Biomass as a fuel
• Logs and wood chips
from woodlands
• Miscanthus and SRC
• Sawdust and off cuts
from wood processing
• Dry agricultural
residues - straw
• Food wastes, slurries
• Oil seed crops and
cereals for liquid biofuel
production

4. How is biomass being used?
• Most common application is heat production
using woodchips, logs or pellets
• Typical scale is between 100 - 1000kW
(around 2000 installations at present)
• Generally a single boiler in a single building
• Growing interest and application of ‘district
heating’ systems
• Industrial scale co-firing and ‘biomass only’
power generation (~6 biomass only power
stations in operation, ~12 planned)

5. Forestry Commission’s Strategy
• 2 million tonnes of
woodfuel from
privately owned,
undermanged
woodland
• Equivalent to
250,000 homes
worth of energy

6. How can I supply this market?
• Use thinnings, poor quality trees
• Allow to dry ‘in the round’
• Chip using a woodfuel grade chipper
• Keep chips dry - make sure they match
boiler specification and follow industry
standards

7. Drying round wood prior to chipping

8. Producing good quality chips
• Use a woodfuel grade
chipper - inconsistent
chip size can block
augers
• Moisture content is
critical
• CEN standards
developed for use
across Europe
• Chippers are
expensive - consider
hiring in unless you
have large quantities
to process

9. Is woodchip competitive with
other fuels?
• Market price varies considerably £50 - £90 per
tonne delivered typical
• Price of oil ~4.0p per kWh (@ 40p per litre)
• Gas price currently around ~ 4.0p per kWh
• 1 tonne of 30% MC woodchips contains 3500
kWh of energy
• Paying anything less than £120 per tonne of
chips is competitive with oil and gas at today’s
prices

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11. Adding value - selling heat
• ‘Energy Supply Company’
(ESCo)
• Attractive to end users -
they do not have to worry
about sourcing fuel
• User billed according to
kWh of heat used - recorded
by a ‘heat meter’
• Watch out for ‘heat
incentive’ - being developed
now.

12. Capital cost
• Biomass systems often much more expensive than
fossil fuel counterparts
• DECC ‘bioenergy capital grant’
• Aimed at ‘industrial and community sectors that are
considering investing in biomass-fuelled heat
and/or combined heat and power projects,
including anaerobic digestion’
• Covers ‘up to 40% of the difference in the cost of
installing biomass…..compared to fossil fuel
alternative’. Max single award £500k
• www.bioenergycapitalgrants.org.uk

13. Energy Crops
• Generally refers to willow short rotation
coppice and Miscanthus
• Energy Crop Scheme grant available via
Natural England - 40% of establishment cost
• Generally associated with larger scale power
plants (E.ON at Lockerbie, SembCorp in the
North East, Eccleshall West Mids) or co-firing
• Some examples of small scale heat in the
region (Lionel Hill)
• Economics investigated by NNFCC

14. Short Rotation Coppice
• Plant spring year 1
• Cutback winter year
1-2
• Harvest every 3
years
• Yields 8 odt per ha
per year
• Needs specialised
harvester and
planter

15. Miscanthus
• Plant spring year 1
• 1st harvest winter year
2 -3
• Annual harvest there
after (usually baled)
• Yields ~ 10 odt ha yr
from year 3
• Similar to a
conventional
agricultural crop
• Eccleshall in W.
Midlands

16. Anaerobic digestion
• Uses animal slurries, food waste, sewage
sludge, maize or grass silage to generate
‘Biogas’ (methane and carbon dioxide)
• Gas powers combustion engine, end
products are power and heat
• Could earn tradeable ‘renewable energy
certificates’
• Digestate could be used as a soil
conditioner - properties dependant on
feedstock

17. In conclusion
• Biomass is an established fuel and is here
to stay
• Can be economically viable
• Matching fuel quality to the end market is
paramount
• Can use existing resources or dedicated
crops

18. Sources of information
• Biomass Energy Centre
www.biomassenergycentre.org.uk
• Forestry Commission
www.forestry.gov.uk/england-woodfuel
• Heartwoods
www.heartwoods.co.uk
• Marches wood energy network
www.mwen.org.uk
• Bioenergy West Midlands
www.bioenergywm.co.uk
• West midlands woodland & forestry forum
www.growingourfuture.org
• National Non Food Crop Centre
www.nnfcc.co.uk