Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7403690 | Energy Policy | 2013 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
On-site data collection, interviews, and financial models were used to determine the feed-in tariff (FIT) rate required to encourage investment in the generation of electricity from currently unused biomass from the Eastern Ontario forest industry. A financial model was adapted and run to determine the net present value, internal rate of return, and payback period associated with a 15Â MW biomass-to-electricity facility. The analysis suggests that Ontario should consider a stronger incentive than the recently-offered CDN$ 0.13Â kWâ1Â hâ1 for biomass-to-electricity. If no customer for heat generated from the plant can be found, FIT rates between CDN$ 0.17-0.22Â kWâ1Â hâ1 are necessary to achieve a 15% internal rate of return and a simple payback of approximately 5Â yr; achieving a price of CDN$ 0.013Â kWâ1 of thermal output still requires elevated FIT rates between CDN$ 0.15-0.21Â kWâ1Â hâ1 to meet economic performance criteria. Other barriers, particularly regulations regarding the use of operating engineers in steam plants, should also be addressed to facilitate development of biomass-to-electricity. Without these changes, it is likely that biomass will be significantly under-used and will not contribute to the renewable energy goals of Ontario.
Keywords
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Physical Sciences and Engineering
Energy
Energy Engineering and Power Technology
Authors
Steven Moore, Vincent Durant, Warren E. Mabee,