A Path Forward for Low Carbon Power from Biomass
Name
Cuellar-2015-A Path Forward for L.pdf
Size
652.14 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
3af133288e377ffdc9f01fe342b38ea5
Author(s)
Cuellar, Amanda
Herzog, Howard J.
Date Issued
February 2015
Journal
Energies
Publisher
MDPI AG
Citation
Cuellar, Amanda, and Howard Herzog. “A Path Forward for Low Carbon Power from Biomass.” Energies 8, no. 3 (February 27, 2015): 1701–1715.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The two major pathways for energy utilization from biomass are conversion to a liquid fuel (i.e., biofuels) or conversion to electricity (i.e., biopower). In the United States (US), biomass policy has focused on biofuels. However, this paper will investigate three options for biopower: low co-firing (co-firing scenarios refer to combusting a given percentage of biomass with coal) (5%–10% biomass), medium co-firing (15%–20% biomass), and dedicated biomass firing (100% biomass). We analyze the economic and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impact of each of these options, with and without CO[subscript 2] capture and storage (CCS). Our analysis shows that in the absence of land use change emissions, all biomass co-combustion scenarios result in a decrease in GHG emissions over coal generation alone. The two biggest barriers to biopower are concerns about carbon neutrality of biomass fuels and the high cost compared to today’s electricity prices. This paper recommends two policy actions. First, the need to define sustainability criteria and initiate a certification process so that biomass providers have a fixed set of guidelines to determine whether their feedstocks qualify as renewable energy sources. Second, the need for a consistent, predictable policy that provides the economic incentives to make biopower economically attractive.
MIT Department
MIT Energy Initiative
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3390/en8031701
