Bioenergy
Australia
Oct 2000
Contents:
Biomass
Taskforce Renamed to Bioenergy Australia
Bioenergy
Australia Membership Update
Bioenergy
Australia 2000 Conference 4-6 December, Gold Coast,
Queensland
IEA
Bioenergy Participation by Australia
Australia
Hosts IEA Bioenergy Meetings
9,500
GWh Additional Renewable Energy Legislation Imminent
Renewable
Energy Commercialisation Program Round 4 Grants
SEDA
Announces 'Renewables Investment Program' Projects
Emissions Trading
Postponed
Forest
and Wood Products Action Agenda Launched
Victoria
Develops Greenhouse Strategy
FPA
of NSW Announces Studies for Wood Waste Fired Power
Stations
Renewable
Energy Corporation Ltd Announces Waste-to-Energy Projects
EnviroStar
Energy Commences Construction of Green Waste to Energy
Plant
Biomass on the
Internet - Biofacts
Swedish
Technology Selected for BIG-GT project in Brazil
Forthcoming Events -
Residues
Opportunities Corner
- Back
Issues of Biomass Taskforce Newsletters - About
Biomass
Taskforce Renamed to Bioenergy Australia
Since the last newsletter was sent out, the Australian Biomass
Taskforce has had its name changed to Bioenergy Australia. This
decision was one of the recommendations from an independent review of
its operation. Interest in biomass energy and bio-based products has
grown tremendously in Australia since the Biomass Taskforce was
established in July 1997 for an initial three year period by four
Federal Government organisations. Towards the end of the initial
three years of operation, RIRDC, Bioenergy Australia's lead
organisation commissioned the Centre for International Economics to
conduct a comprehensive review of the Biomass Taskforce with a view
to its continuation. Besides recommending that the Biomass Taskforce
continues for at least a further three years, the CIE recommended a
change of name. The membership subsequently decided on the new name
of Bioenergy Australia. The new name came into effect in July
2000.
Bioenergy
Australia Membership1 Update
The Bioenergy Australia membership continues to grow. Thirty-eight
organisations are now participants in Bioenergy Australia, with
recent new members being Conservation and Land Management (CALM) of
Western Australia, Auspine Ltd, North Forest Products, and the CSIRO
Sustainable Ecosystems. Bioenergy Australia wishes to further expand
its membership and invites interested organisations to contact the
Bioenergy Australia Manager, Dr Stephen Schuck on tel/fax 02 9416
9246 or email: Steve.Schuck@bigpond.com
if your organisation is interested in joining this bioenergy
development forum.
Bioenergy
Australia 2000 Conference 4-6 December, Gold Coast, Queensland
Bioenergy Australia will be holding its inaugural conference at
the Grand Mercure Hotel, Broadbeach, Gold Coast on 4 -5 December with
a field trip to visit three bioenergy projects on Wednesday 6
December. The program on Monday 4 December will consist of papers
setting the framework, including policies and programs for bioenergy
development in Australia. A series of Case Studies will follow in two
parallel sessions after lunch. Specific case studies will relate to
electricity and co-products from mallee eucalypts, bioenergy projects
with the sugar industry, gasification of green and municipal solid
waste, ethanol-from-wood, a large scale anaerobic digestor being
constructed in Sydney's western suburbs, biomass co-firing and Visy's
Tumut cogeneration power plant. The Tuesday 5 December program will
mainly consist of a series of moderated panel discussions on the
topics of 'Biofuels Availability', 'Technology Availability',
'Environmental, Social and Institutional Issues', 'The Market for
Bioenergy', and 'Investment in Bioenergy'. A supporting presentation
to the 'Market for Bioenergy' discussion will be provided on The
Green Electricity Market Project by Ken Chapman of M-Co. Professor
Ralph Sims of Massey University, New Zealand will act as Rapporteur
for these panel discussions. On Wednesday 6 December an optional
conference tour to Stanwell's project at the Rocky Point Sugar Mill,
a visit to the Luggage Point biogas plant and to Visy's fluidised bed
combustor on Gibson Island are planned. There will also be an
exhibition at the conference. A registration form for the
conference is provided at the end of this newsletter. The early
bird registration closes on 31 October. To encourage agroforesters,
farmers and students to attend a substantial discount is being
offered.
The full program for the conference may be found on ICMS' web site
at www.icms.com.au/bioenergyaust2000.
Sponsorship and exhibitor information packs are also available.
Contact Natalie Daines at ICMS' Sydney office on phone: 02 9290 3366
fax: 02 9290 2444 email: natalie@icms.com.au.
IEA
Bioenergy Participation by Australia
Bioenergy Australia is the vehicle for Australia's participation
in the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Bioenergy program.
Bioenergy Australia is providing Australia's annual membership fee to
the IEA Bioenergy Executive Committee, with the Bioenergy Australia
Manager convening a group which has been participating in IEA
Bioenergy Task 17, Short Rotation Crops for Bioenergy since
the beginning of 1999. Since January 2000 the Bioenergy Australia has
been directly participating in four additional Tasks. These new Tasks
are:
· Task 18-Conventional Forestry Systems for
Bioenergy
· Task 19-Biomass Combustion
· Task 23-Energy from Thermal Conversion of MSW and
RDF
· Task 25-Greenhouse Gas Balances of Bioenergy
Systems
Subgroups from Bioenergy Australia membership have formed to
participate in these Tasks, with each Task selecting a National Team
Leader to co-ordinate involvement. National Team Leaders are: Task
18- Dr John Raison, CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products; Task 19-
Peter Coombes, Delta Electricity; Task 23- Paul Wootton, Brightstar
Environmental; and Task 25- Dr Annette Cowie, State Forests NSW.
Bioenergy Australia will be participating in successor Tasks from
2001-2003. There is also a possibility of joining the Liquid
Fuels Task should sufficient industry support be forthcoming.
This is also being investigated by a Renewable Energy Action Agenda
implementation group considering renewable transportation fuels.
Should you or your organisation wish to obtain information on IEA
Bioenergy and possible participation in this program, please contact
Steve Schuck, the Bioenergy Australia Manager and Australia's
representative on the Executive Committee of IEA Bioenergy. Tel/fax:
(02)-9416-9246, or email: Steve.Schuck@bigpond.com.
IEA Bioenergy has its home page at the new URL: http://www.ieabioenergy.com
which provides links to the IEA Bioenergy Task sites and information
such as its Annual Report and the Strategic Plan.
Australia
Hosts IEA Bioenergy Meetings
Task 18 Conventional Forestry Systems for Bioenergy
held its annual workshop "Bioenergy from Sustainable Forestry:
Principles and Practice" in south east Queensland and northern NSW
from 16 to 20 October 2000. The technical sessions were held at Coffs
Harbour from Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 October. Task 18 is developing
systems and guidelines for environmentally sustainable and economic
production of biomass for energy from conventional forestry systems;
and to promote their acceptance and use in relation to silviculture,
forest management, harvesting and transportation. The meeting was
hosted by Bioenergy Australia and State Forests of NSW. Session
topics were: Forest Management; Production of Forest Fuels; Fuel
Quality; Biodiversity; Environmental Indicators & Sustainability
Management; Carbon Sequestration & Balances; Management Planning
& Decision Tools; and Bioenergy Systems Analysis. Approximately
40 delegates, mainly from overseas attended this workshop.
Task 19 Biomass Combustion will be holding its
meeting at the Grand Mercure Hotel, Broadbeach on 7 & 8 December,
immediately after the Bioenergy Australia 2000 conference, and will
share its technical tour. For details contact Peter Coombes of Delta
Electricity on tel: 02 9285 2789.
The new Task Greenhouse Gas Balances of Biomass and Bioenergy
Systems is also planning to hold its next meeting in Australia in
late March 2001. In March this year a Task 17 meeting was held in
Western Australia.
9,500
GWh Additional Renewable Energy Legislation Imminent
The Bill that will mandate that Australian electricity producers
provide an additional two percent renewable energy by 2010 has been
passing through Federal Parliament. In the announcement following
Cabinet's decision to proceed with the measure, the target was set at
9,500 GWh/a from 2010 until 2020, to be phased in from 2001. The
measure will apply to wholesale purchasers of electricity on grids
larger than 100 MW capacity, with self-generators being excluded as
liable parties. The measure will operate through the trading of
renewable energy certificates. Biomass energy is expected to provide
a substantial proportion of the renewable energy to meet the target.
Issues to be resolved by Parliament include eligible biomass fuel
sources, the tax deductibility of the mooted $40/MWh 'charge' and its
indexation. Information on the 9,500 GWh/a target may be found on the
Australian Greenhouse Office's website at: www.greenhouse.gov.au/markets.2percent_ren/fs_boost.html
Renewable
Energy Commercialisation Program Round 4 Grants
The Australian Greenhouse Office has made known the fourth round
of the Renewable Energy Commercialisation Program grant offers.
Bioenergy projects announced are:
· Advanced bagasse fired boiler/heat recovery steam
generators for large scale electricity cogeneration in sugar
mills
A grant of $1,000,000 has been offered to the Sugar Research
Institute, Mackay, Queensland for the installation of a new
design of boiler for firing bagasse from sugar production to
commercially generate renewable energy. Design innovations address
efficiency and cost issues and involve convection tube bank
configurations for reduced wear; air heater design for increased
performance and reduced corrosion; improved secondary air injection
and improved fuel spreader design. The new enhanced boiler,
incorporating heat recovery steam generators to further improve its
efficiency, will be installed for the first time together in a single
sugar plant at Maryborough Sugar Mill. The Queensland Department of
State Development has offered funding of $1.8m to other elements of
the project, resulting in advanced technologies design and
engineering, modifications and process optimisation, commissioning
and performance testing of the sugar mill boiler.
· The NSW Sugar Milling Co-Operative Ltd (Condong) has
been offered $1,000,000 for two related projects:
Factory Based Cane Trash Separation System
The development of a trash/cane separation plant for Condong Sugar
Mill by utilising cane trash fuel in cogeneration with existing waste
stream products (including camphor laurel) and integrating with the
advanced cane harvester technology developed by NSW Sugar. The cane
trash would otherwise be burnt or left to decompose in the field
without being used as an energy source.
This project will be the culmination of extended R&D by the
Sugar Research Institute (SRI) into trash separation for cogeneration
purposes. It will be the companion to a Queensland project planned by
SRI and Stanwell Corporation which will study treatment of trash for
improving its performance as a boiler fuel.
Innovation in harvesting, processing and transporting the woody
weed camphor laurel for renewable energy production and other
products
The second project is with State Forests of NSW and Delta
Electricity for the supply of forest residues from the woody weed,
Camphor Laurel (a pest species), to the Condong sugar mill, NSW for
year round commercial power generation. The project introduces an
innovative concept for harvesting and transport, reducing the
delivered cost of fuel by utilising a tracked chipper and idle cane
harvest equipment to harvest and deliver product. The recovery of
biomass will be maximised by harvesting close to stump. The 10 year
project will be located in northern NSW, commencing in the autumn of
2001.
SEDA
Announces 'Renewables Investment Program' Projects
The New South Wales Sustainable Energy Development Authority, SEDA
has announced $4.3 million funding for nine renewable energy projects
under the third round of their Renewables Investment Program. Four
bioenergy projects are to be supported. They are:
· EarthPower Technologies: A $17.7 million anaerobic digestor
at Camellia in Sydney's west, which will convert food and food
processing wastes into biogas and organic fertiliser. Stage 1 will
process 82,000 tonnes per year, with plans to expand to 140,000
tonnes per year. Feasibility of generating electricity from the
biogas will be considered in Stage 2. Completion is expected in June
2001 and will produce 3 MW of exportable biogas (65% methane, 35%
carbon dioxide). The prime contractor will be McConnell-Dowell, with
the AD technology to be supplied by Waste Solutions from New Zealand
and BTA of Germany.
· AGL Landfill Gas Projects: Landfill gas extraction and
electricity generation at West Nowra and Wagga Wagga. The former
project is due for completion in February 2002 and will produce
approximately 1MW, with the Wagga Wagga project to probably produce
626 kW.
· Rethmann Australia: Installation of a plant to process
waste otherwise destined for landfill, to produce 25,000 tonnes of
fuel pellets that can be used in power stations instead of coal. When
fully operational, the plant will supply 14,000 tonnes per annum of
high quality fuel pellets with an energy potential of 322 million MJ
per annum.
· Sydney Water: Installation of a 470 kW cogeneration plant
at the Cronulla Sewage Treatment Plant in Sydney's south-east. To
date digestor gases have been flared for disposal. The plant will
operate for 16 hours per day, 355 days per year.
Emissions Trading
Postponed
The Minister for Industry, Science and Resources, Senator Nick
Minchin announced on 23rd August that the Commonwealth Government,
whilst committed to the pursuit of cost effective greenhouse
abatement policies, will only implement a mandatory domestic
emissions trading scheme if the Kyoto Protocol is ratified and there
is an established international emissions trading regime. Emissions
trading will continue to be kept under review and could be introduced
at a later point if in the national interest. See
http://www.minister.industry.gov.au/minchin/releases/2000/august/cmr431%2D00.doc
Forest
and Wood Products Action Agenda Launched
On 4 September Federal Cabinet approved the Forest and Wood
Products Action Agenda and an increase in R&D funding to
dollar-for-dollar with industry. A major focus of the strategy is to
wind back the $2 billion trade deficit in forest products, helping
the Australian forest and wood products industry to become more
globally competitive and increasing Australia's presence in the
growing Asian market. A Forest Products Advisory Council will oversee
the Action Agenda which is supportive of Bioenergy Australia and
participation in IEA Bioenergy. Details of the Action Agenda are on
AFFA's forest website at http://www.affa.gov.au/affa/subjects/forestry.html#5.
The Media release on the R&D funding is at http://www.affa.gov.au/affa/pr/releases/tuckey/index.html.
Further details may be obtained from Clive Catton of AFFA. Tel: 02
6272 4191.
Victoria
Develops Greenhouse Strategy
Victoria has released a discussion paper for their Greenhouse
Strategy for comment. A series of public forums are being held in
regional and metropolitan Victoria to encourage comment on the
Discussion Paper and the Victorian Greenhouse Strategy. The closing
date for submissions is Friday, 17 November 2000. To get the paper or
to comment visit: http://www.greenhouse.vic.gov.au/
FPA
of NSW Announces Studies for Wood Waste Fired Power Stations
The New South Wales Forest Products Association has announced it
has teamed up with Babcock and Brown and National Power (USA) to
conduct studies for three 30 MW scale wood waste fired power stations
in NSW. The investigations are for sites near Grafton, Buladelah and
Moruya. The FPA has formed the Clean Green Energy Company as the
vehicle for this development.
Renewable
Energy Corporation Ltd Announces Waste-to-Energy Projects
Bioenergy Australia member, Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd
announced in August the supply of a Waterwide gasification unit to a
US $7 million poultry litter-to-energy-to-fertiliser plant in
Virginia, USA, being developed in conjunction with DukeSolutions and
Harmony Products. That plant is currently under construction and will
be the first large-scale application in the USA of a closed loop
system to solve the problem of animal waste disposal.
The Virginia project has now led to a joint development agreement
to apply the same technology in at least four other locations, at a
total construction cost of US$36 million, with plants scheduled for
completion in late 2001. These plants will be based on gasification
of poultry waste to produce organic fertiliser and energy for sale to
industrial customers in the form of steam. RECL will share ownership
of these plants with DukeSolutions and Harmony Products and it is
planned to extend the technology to include processing of industrial
waste water sludge and other animal waste streams in similar plants
at other locations. The project partners estimate deployment of up to
200 plants worldwide, with about half these in the USA. See web:
www.renrg.com ; www.dukesolutions.com
; www.harmonyproducts.com
.
EnviroStar
Energy Commences Construction of Green Waste to Energy Plant
Another Bioenergy Australia member, EnviroStar Energy has
commenced construction of its Stapylton, Gold Coast, Queensland 21 MW
green waste to energy facility. Earth works commenced on 25 July,
with boiler house construction set to commence in December with full
load operation due in September 2001. The facility will be fuelled by
household green waste sourced from seven council landfills within
South-East Queensland. The plant will use proprietary fluidised bed
technology and will use air-cooled condensers to minimise use of
water. Inert ash from the plant will be used for the manufacture of
lightweight concrete blocks. Further information: www.envirostar.com.au
Tel: 02 9929 3962.
Biomass on the
Internet
The Internet provides a valuable source of information on biomass
and allied topics. Below are some Internet addresses to supplement
the addresses given in the previous nine issues of the Bioenergy
Australia newsletters. These lists are consolidated as electronic
links on Bioenergy Australia's web page at www.users.bigpond.com/Steve.Schuck/ABT
Senate Committee report on 2%
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/erca_ctte/REB2000/Reb2000.pdf
ABC Earthbeat story - Burning Forests for Electricity Tasmania's
Huon Valley
www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s2700741.htm
Bioenergy Atlas web site (RIRDC/AGO funded project)
http://sg211.gisca.adelaide.edu.au/bioenergy_atlas/html.atlas_index.html
Northern Sydney Waste Board
www.northwaste.nsw.gov.au
Australian Waste Database
http://www.civeng.unsw.edu.au/Water/awdb
GGAP Guidelines
http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/ggap/guidelines_related.html
Anaerobic Digestion sites
http://www.anaerobicdigestion.com
http://www.pipeline.com/~dan_glick/CFR.html
http://www.husdyr.kvl.dk/htm/php/tune96/13An.htm
Bioscan A/S (anaerobic digestion)
http://www.bioscan.dk/
Researchers solve toxic wood-waste problem story
http://enn.com/news/enn-stories/2000/10/10092000/treatedwood_32228.asp
The Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
(treated wood research)
http://www.floridacenter.org/
University of Florida has developed a technique to reduce toxic
pollution from burning pesticide-treated wood
http://www.ufl.edu/
Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management (CCA
treated wood)
http://www.ccaresearch.org/
Biotechnology Chemical Centre, Lund University, Sweden
http://www.biotek.lu.se/
Energy as an instrument for Socio-Economic Development (UNDP)
http://www.undp.org/seed/energy/policy/
Carbohydrate Economy Clearinghouse
http://www.carbohydrateeconomy.org/
Pew Center on Global Climate
http://www.pewclimate.org/
Victorian Government's greenhouse discussion paper.
http://www.greenhouse.vic.gov.au
Gasifiers (50-300 kW scale)
http://www.marick/co.uk
UNDP
http://www.undp.org/seed/energy/policy/ch_5.htm
BioEnrepreneur 2000 Workshop
www.bioentrepreneur.net
Reith Lectures in UK: Can Sustainable Development be made to work
in the real world?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/reith_2000/
"Cli-Manage 2000"
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/cli2000/cli2000.html
XII World Forestry Congress (FAO)
http://www.wfc2003.org/
Bioenergy Glossary (US Oregon Department of Energy)
http://rredc.nrel.gov/biomass/states/bio_glossary/
Life Cycle analyses (biomass systems)
http://www.eren.doe.gov/biopower/bplib/Library/Life_cycle_all.pdf
Greenfield Resource Options Pty Ltd
http://www.gro.com.au/
The Climate Change Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 2
http://www.brs.gov.au/publications/ccn/ccn12v2/index.html
Gasifiers
http://www.gasifiers.org
Health Benefits of Biodiesel
http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/June00/23June0001.html
National Biodiesel announcement on biodiesel development
http://www.biodiesel.org/bio_bulletins/62000bdbulletin.htm
AFBnet international seminar on biomass cofiring
http://www.itebe.org
Green Electricity Marketplace
http://www.gemoz.com
'Woody Biomass as an energy source -challenges in Europe'
conference, 25-28th September, Joensuu, Finland
http://www.efi.fi/events/2000/woody.html
11th issue of our BUN-INDIA news letter
http://144.16.65.129/~cgplhome/bun_vol_33.html
Ninth Regional Biennial Bioenergy Conference (Buffalo, NY,
USA)
http://www.nrbp.org/bio2000.htm
Wood roasting unit- (torrified wood)
http://www.techtp.com/EC%20TW%20demo.htm
ENAMORA gasifier
http://www.energiaverde.com
TEKES Technology Development Centre, Finland
http://www.tekes.fi
Economist articles of distributed power (5-11 Aug)
http://www.economist.com/editorial/freeforall/current/index_st1632.html
Glossary of bioenergy terms - Oregon Office of Energy
http://rredc.nrel.gov/biomass/states/bio_glossary/
4th Session of the Internet Conference on Material Flow
Analysis
"Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Wastes - Process Parameters and
Balances in Practice" presented by Martin Kranert and Kai Hillebrecht
(Germany). Internet conference paper:
http://www.ias.unu.edu/proceedings/icibs/ic-mfa/hillebrecht
32 MW biomass-fuelled, integrated, combined-cycle power station
based on eucalyptus wood
http://www.caddet.co.uk/html/body_398newss.htm
http://www.caddet.co.uk/html/contswed.htm
http://www.caddet.co.uk/html/398news.htm
Ethanol from Wood
http://www.daviesand.com/Perspectives/Forest_Products/Ethanol/
Los Alamos National Laboratory (gasification/fuel cells)
http://www.lanl.gov/energy/ziock/ziock.html
US Native Forest sustainability issues sites
http://www.calbiomass.org/forestry.htm
http://ermisweb.state.mi.us/biomass/publications/breakfast/#Forestry
http://rredc.nrel.gov/biomass/doe/rbep/ms_biomass/e.html
http://rredc.nrel.gov/biomass/doe/rbep/ms_biomass/future.html
Victorian Government Releases Greenhouse Strategy Discussion
Paper
http://www.greenhouse.vic.gov.au/
Forest and Wood Products Action Agenda
http://www.affa.gov.au/affa/subjects/forestry.html#5
The Media release on R&D funding for the Forest and Wood
Products Action Agenda
http://www.affa.gov.au/affa/pr/releases/tuckey/index.html
Information on biomass residues
http://www.rwedp.org/p_residues.html
Louisiana-Pacific (adhesives from bark)
http://www.LPCorp.com
Ensyn Group Inc. (biobased fuels and bio-based chemicals)
http://www.ensyn.com
Biomass compactor (makes small burnable smoke free logs from
Sawdust)
http://www.shimada.co.uk/
ENDS Report 305, pp. 23-25, June 2000 (BASF gasifier)
http://www.ends.co.uk/report/index.htm
"The Environmental Imperative for Renewable Energy: An Update,"
Dr. Adam Serchuk, April 2000
http://www.repp.org/articles/envImp/
CTI's World ClimateTech2000
http://www.climatetech.net/climatetech/index.html
Workshop on Integrated Food Production and Resource Management
(9-10 Nov), Brisbane
http://inform2000.laf.uq.edu.au
Integrated Tree Cropping Ltd
www.treecrop.com.au
The Saltland Pastures Association - Proposal For Revegetation of
One Million Hectares of Wheatbelt Saltland in Western Australia
http://www.general.uwa.edu.au/u/dpannell/saltland.htm
The Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops 2000
Annual Meeting, St. Louis, Missouri- October 15-17, 2000
http://www.aaic.org/meetings.htm
Biofacts
To obtain a balanced view of various renewable energy
technologies, it is most important to consider not only their
emissions during operation, but also from all stages of their life
cycles from manufacture, construction, deployment, operation and
eventual decommissioning. For sustainably managed bioenergy systems,
a simplistic view is that carbon dioxide released during operation
(e.g. from combustion and gasification processes) is reabsorbed by
photosynthesis during the balanced growth of the biomass. Detailed
analyses have been conducted to assess full life cycle emissions of
such plants, including fossil fuels used for production, harvesting
and transportation of biofuels. Likewise, photovoltaic cells and wind
energy, while they do not emit carbon dioxide during operation, they
do have emission associated with their manufacture. The Table below
gives life cycle carbon dioxide emissions for a range of bioenergy
and other renewable energy sources and is compared to 'best practice
coal' and gas combined cycle gas turbines.
Life Cycle Carbon Dioxide Emissions for various technologies
(g/kWh)
|
Coal: Best Practice
|
955
|
|
Gas: Combined cycle
|
446
|
|
Onshore wind
|
9
|
|
Hydro - existing large
|
32
|
|
Hydro – small-scale
|
5
|
|
Decentralised PV- retrofit
|
160
|
|
Decentralised PV – new houses
|
178
|
|
Decentralised PV – new
commercial
|
154
|
|
Bioenergy – poultry litter -
gasification
|
8
|
|
Bioenergy – poultry litter –
steam cycle
|
10
|
|
Bioenergy – straw – steam
cycle
|
13
|
|
Bioenergy –straw - pyrolysis
|
11
|
|
Bioenergy – energy crops -
gasification
|
14
|
|
Bioenergy – Forestry residues –
steam cycle
|
29
|
|
Bioenergy – Forestry residues -
gasification
|
24
|
|
Bioenergy – animal slurry –
anaerobic digestion
|
31
|
|
MSW incineration
|
364
|
|
Landfill gas
|
49
|
|
Sewage gas
|
4
|
(Source New and Renewable Energy: Prospects in the UK for the 21st
Century, Supporting Analysis. Dept of Trade and Industry, March
1999).
Swedish
Technology Selected for BIG-GT project in Brazil
A project to construct and operate a 32 MW biomass-fuelled,
integrated, combined-cycle power station based on eucalyptus wood is
in progress.
The combined-cycle power station integrates atmospheric pressure
gasification technology and gas turbines, otherwise known as Biomass
Integrated Gasification-Gas Turbine technology (BIG-GT). The plant
will be located in Bahia, North-eastern Brazil and is scheduled to
start up in later this year.
In the BIG-GT process, biomass (as chipped wood) is heated and
transformed into an energy-rich gas. The gas is cleaned and burned in
a gas turbine. Hot flue gas from the gas turbine is led into a heat
recovery boiler producing steam that is in turn led into a steam
turbine. This 'combined-cycle' method of using a gas turbine in
combination with a steam turbine is a key to the high electrical
efficiency of the BIG-GT plant. The TPS gasification and gas-cleaning
process has made it possible to produce a biogas clean enough to be
used in a high-efficiency gas turbine. The TPS proprietary
tar-cracking technology is also fundamental to the scheme, which must
generate cool, clean gas for the compressor while avoiding the
production of significant quantities of noxious wastes.
For more information go to web site: http://www.caddet.co.uk/html/398news.htm
Forthcoming Events
Residues
- Bioenergy Australia has released its six page glossy brochure
entitled Biomass - Energy and Products to inform a wider
community about biomass and the opportunities it affords. The
brochure provides a general introduction on biomass, and covers
biomass conversion technologies and the benefits of biomass
energy. The brochure was issued as an insert in the most recent
edition of Australian Energy News.
- Steve Schuck, the Bioenergy Australia Manager delivered a
paper at the AIC Contracting in Plantation and Production
Forestry 3rd Annual Conference in Melbourne 4-5 September
2000. The title of the paper was "Bioenergy Opportunities from
Forestry Residues".
- Steve Schuck gave a presentation at the Australia Institute of
Energy half day symposium Energy from 'Waste' Fuels on 25
October. The presentation was entitled "Bioenergy Development in
Australia".
- Stanwell Corporation Ltd has announced it will be developing
two sewage gas bioenergy plants in Townsville at a cost of
$535,000. Each installation will provide 115 kW.
- A new report, "Agricultural Soil Carbon Accumulation in North
America: Considerations for Climate Policy," is now available at
the web site of the Natural Resources Defense Council: Full
Report: http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/depth.asp
- Interested parties can subscribe to a sustainable energy
industry e-group by going to: www.egroups.com/group/SustainableEnergyIndustry
and then follow the prompts.
- Delta Electricity has commenced co-firing trials at its
Wallerawang Power Station near Lithgow. The biomass is radiata
pine residues.
- The US based Institute for Local Self-Reliance continually
updates its the Biomass Information Resources Page at http://www.me3.org/issues/biomass/
Recent additions have been the following items:
- Energy Power Resources Limited - UK
- Microgy Cogeneration Systems Inc.
- Ensyn
- National Agroforestry Center - USDA
- Salix Project - Willow Project in Wales
- European Biomass Association
- Italian Biomass Association
- Swedish Bioenergy Association
- Belgian Biomass Association
- BIOSEM (Biomass Socio-Economic Multiplier)
- Lessons Learned from Existing Biomass Power Plants - NREL,
February 2000
- NSP's Biomass Power Information
- The Burning Question - lead article on biomass energy from
the Spring 2000 issue of The Carbohydrate Economy, Institute
for Local Self-Reliance, May 2000
- The Economic Impacts of Bioenergy Crop Production on U.S.
Agriculture - Marie E. Walsh et al, ORNL, May 2000
- Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd.
- Recent additions to the ISL the Ethanol and Biofuels page
http://www.me3.org/issues/ethanol/
have been:
- DOE's Office of Fuels Development
- Ag Environmental Products
- Biodiesel Development Corp.
- Griffin Industries
- World Energy Alternatives
- The Other Gasoline Crises: Speeding Up The Shift From MTBE
To Ethanol - Institute for Local Self-Reliance, September
2000
- RFG/MTBE Findings & Recommendations - Northeast States
for Coordinated Air Use Management, August 1999
- A United Nations Development Programme publication Energy
As An Instrument for Socio-Economic Development includes the
following:
- Community Biogas Plants Supply Rural Energy and Water:
The Pura Village Case Study by Amulya K.N. Reddy, P.
Ragabapaiah and H. Somasekhar, International Energy Initiative,
Bangalore, India.
Web: http://www.undp.org/seed/energy/policy/ch_8.htm
- Biomass Plantation Energy Systems and Sustainable
Development by Eric D. Larson and Robert H. Williams,
Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Princeton
University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Web: http://www.undp.org/seed/energy/policy/ch_9.htm
- Converting Biomass to Liquid Fuels: Making Ethanol from
Sugar Cane in Brazil. Isaias de Carvalho Macedo, Centro de
Tecnologia Copersucar, Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Web:
http://www.undp.org/seed/energy/policy/ch10.htm
- Since the previous Bioenergy Australia newsletter, US
biodiesel industry leaders announced the results of a three-year,
$2.2 million EPA study confirming biodiesel's ability to reduce
health risks associated with standard petroleum diesel. In
compliance with US Clean Air Act testing, key industry players
announced the results to an audience of Congressional leaders, the
Department of Energy and fuel and agricultural industry officials.
The full text is at: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/June00/23June0001.html
- Guidelines and material about the new Environment Protection
and Biodiversity Conservation Act are available through
Environment Australia's Internet site at http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc.
Alternatively contact Environment Australia on 1800 803 772.
- A panel of US experts has created a list for energy production
by 2010, considering technological advances, changing economics,
expanding research and development, tightening global
environmental regulations, consumer preferences, energy policy and
legal issues. They predict that:
- Distributed Generation, including power generated by
microturbines, internal combustion engines and fuel cells, will
become prevalent. Businesses, individuals, or neighbourhoods
could choose to generate their own electricity.
- Energy deregulation will continue. New, small utilities
created as a result of deregulation will eventually remerge
into Super Utilities.
- Energy farms which grow bio-engineered crops solely for
fuel will begin operation. The demand for fuel would bring new
business to farmers who could grow both food and fuel crops.
(Source: Green Energy News Inc. vol.5
no.17).
- Britain has a target of obtaining 5 percent of its electricity
from renewable energy sources by 2003 and 10 percent by 2010.
- A Bioenergy Glossary, published by the US Oregon
Department of Energy, is a useful compendium of more than 600
technical terms. Included in the glossary are general and
specialised terms associated with bioenergy technologies. Web
address is: http://rredc.nrel.gov/biomass/states/bio_glossary/
- The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Louisiana-Pacific
(NYSE: LPX) and Ensyn Group Inc. to receive a US $1.4 million
grant to develop bark-based adhesives for use in the production of
structural building materials, including oriented strand board
(OSB) and plywood. Louisiana-Pacific and Ensyn received the Energy
Department funding under President Clinton's 1999 Bio-based
Product and Bioenergy Initiative designed to triple the U.S.
production of fuels and chemicals from biomass by 2010. The Energy
department's grant will be matched by funds from Louisiana-Pacific
and Ensyn.
- In mid August the Vermont gasifier, located at Burlington
Electric Departments' McNeil Generating Station, successfully
completed a 24 hour endurance test, producing medium calorific gas
from 285 tons of wood and producing 140 MWh electricity. This
project is based on the indirectly heated process developed by
Battelle Laboratories. The process is reported to have worked well
with all major parameters indicating stable and consistent
operation. Parametric testing has now begun. The 'SilvaGas' is
presently combusted in the adjacent power plant furnace. A later
stage is to use the gas to fire a gas turbine.
- The CD-ROM containing the Proceedings of the 23rd
International Conference of the International Association for
Energy Economics held in Sydney, 7 - 10 June 2000 is available
at a cost of $110 (inclusive of GST and postage). Contact
aaee@unsw.edu.au.
- The US Department of Energy has announced awards of US
$8,036,000 for research in developing and testing clean burning
fuels for co-firing in large-scale utility and industrial boilers.
The funding was allocated to six organizations for experimental
technologies over a two-year period. More information is available
at: http://www.doe.gov/news/releases00/julpr/pr00185.htm
- The US DOE has awarded a one-year, US $7 million subcontract
to Genencor International of Palo Alto, California for research
into developing less expensive enzymes that will reduce the cost
of converting plant material into ethanol and fermentable sugars.
Genencor will build on DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory
work to use certain enzymes to convert wood chips, corn stalks and
other biomass "waste" to ethanol. Genencor's research plan
suggests a way to reduce the cost of these enzymes to about 5
cents US per US gallon of ethanol produced. http://www.doe.gov/news/releases00/julpr/pr00187.htm
- The US DOE has announced financial assistance of nearly US $8
million over the next three years to encourage the U.S. biobased
products industry to use crops, trees and residues to make
plastics, paints, and adhesives. The funds will support six
research and development partnerships and a new education
initiative for encouraging multi-disciplinary research and
teaching programs. http://www.doe.gov/news/releases00/augpr/pr00216.htm
- Agriculture Minister Warren Truss has announced that the
Federal government will fund a study into the commercial viability
of increasing ethanol fuel production by the sugar industry. The
government study, estimated to cost $20,000, would be co-ordinated
by its commodities think tank the Australian Bureau of
Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE).
- Queensland's 'A Cleaner Energy Strategy' released earlier this
year mandates that electricity retailers source 15% of their power
sold in Queensland from alternative energy sources. From January
2005 at least 13 percent must be sourced from gas and the
remainder from renewable sources.
- The Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand is
working on a 'Sida' funded project to develop and deploy
briquetting systems and briquette stoves. The briquetting machine
under development is a heated-die type with a capacity of 90-100
kg/hour. More information about the Sida supported regional
program can be found on website: http://www.retsasia.ait.ac.th/
- The ABC Earthbeat program aired a segment entitled 'Burning
Forests for Electricity Tasmania's Huon Valley' on 14 October. The
transcript is on their web site at www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s2700741.htm
- Jaako Pöyry Consulting has produced a 108 page document
paper "Climate Change: An Industry Position Paper" which is
available for US $750 plus GST. Tel: (02) 6295 2777.
Opportunities Corner
The Biomass Taskforce would like to assist and facilitate biomass
and bioenergy projects by providing information and industry contacts
to link project developers, resource managers, energy companies, and
sources of finance. If you or your organisation are interested in
such assistance, please contact Steve Schuck for a free listing.
- CVC REEF is seeking investment opportunities in Australian
renewable energy companies. Under the Renewable Energy Equity Fund
Licence Agreement, Eligible Investments for CVC REEF are defined
as Australian companies that are commercialising the results of
R&D into renewable energy or related enabling technologies.
Potential investee companies must be at the Seed, Startup or Early
Expansion stages, with average annual revenue generally not
exceeding $4 million over the last two years and neither of the
last two year's revenue exceeding $5 million.
CVC REEF will make investments in the $1 - $3 million range by
taking equity in the investee company or through quasi-equity
convertible notes in the business. These investments will be
expected to provide CVC REEF with an internal rate of return
considerably better than bank interest rates and they must all be
realised before September 2010.
If you believe that your company fits this profile, please
contact Merv Johnston or Griff Rose on 02 6257 0000.
- The Minister for Western Sydney, Kim Yeadon recently formed a
high profile Taskforce to help implement the Environmental
Strategy for Western Sydney. One of the action-areas is the
development of systems and infrastructure to ensure management of
wastes as resources within the region. A working group of the
Taskforce wishes to facilitate commercial opportunities for
waste/resource processing, refining and value adding
infrastructure (including bioenergy facilities). Should you have
experienced any barriers relating to planning, licencing,
approvals or co-ordination between Government departments
generally, the working group would like to hear from about it, so
appropriate action can be taken. The criteria for appropriate
projects are: focused on recovering resource value from 'wastes';
projects fully committed by proponents but experiencing
unnecessary delays; located in Western Sydney (15 Council areas);
and could benefit from the combined support, facilitation,
coordination, of the 'whole-of-Government' Western Sydney
Environmental Taskforce.
In the first instance please contact: Mark Glover, Eco Waste
Pty Ltd, Tel: 02 9664 5552, Mobile: 0417 224 919 Email: mark@ecowaste.com.au
By Wednesday 15 November 2000.
Back
Issues of Biomass Taskforce Newsletters – Downloadable from
the Biomass Taskforce’s homepage: http://www.users.bigpond.com/steve.schuck/abt
The Biomass Taskforce Newsletter is a complimentary service
provided by the Biomass Taskforce to stimulate interest in biomass
and bioenergy in Australia. Email is the preferred way of
distributing these newsletters. Should you have received your copy
by post, and you have email, it would be appreciated if you would
inform Steve Schuck (email: Steve.Schuck@bigpond.com)
of your email address.
|
Editor : Dr. Stephen Schuck, Bioenergy Australia
Manager
Any comments, suggestions, articles and feedback are
welcome. The view expressed in this newsletter are not
necessarily those of the member organisations. Bioenergy
Australia may be contacted at:
Bioenergy Australia
7 Grassmere Rd, Killara, NSW 2071
Phone/Fax: (02) 9416 9246
Email: Steve.Schuck@bigpond.com
Web: http://www.users.bigpond.com/Steve.Schuck/ABT
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