Biomass Combustion in Poland present and prospective policy strategies - Adam Guła

BIOMASS COMBUSTION in POLAND

present and prospective policy strategies

Adam Gula and Pawel Wajss

AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland and

The Krakow Institute for Sustainable Energy

presented at

The International Conference on Solid Biofuels(ICSB 2011)

„Beijing 11-12 November 2011

RES in POLAND:

Flat country - small hydro potential

Not much wind either

biomass is relatively abundant

• So focus is on biomass, but

CONTRARY TO WHAT MANY DECISION MAKERS

SEEM TO ASSUME

BIOMASS is a

LIMITED RESOURCE

… by available harvest area, soil quality, climate ...

but also financial resources for investment

We have to remember that

we need biomass primarily for foodand also it for material (industrial) uses

When it comes to the energy use of biomass let us note that we can derive from it:

•mechanical power (motor biofuels)

•electricity or heat

we cannot satisfy all those needs simultaneously

at least in short or medium term

we have to choose !!

co-firing of biomass with coal(mainly in pulverized coal boilers)

long distance transportation

huge technical problems

illustration of the transportation problem:

Supply sources

A hypothetical example

ca 400 MW thermal power plant

ca 5% of electricity from biomass

Źródło: Opracowanie własne

500 tons/day, i.e50 trucks with 10 tonnes load per day times 100 km gives 5000 km/day (one way)i.e. Moscow – Lisbon return

every dayi.e. ca. 2000-3000 litres of Diesel oil + (LCA)energy embedded in truck maintenance & construction, maintenance of roads, etc gives about 25% loss of energy at the power station gate

Moscow - Lisbon via PL 5100 km

examples of technical problems behind the power station gate:

Grinding:

• The operation depends on the parameters of biomass

• Residual biomass

•current load grows 10-15%

• The need of an extra mill

The adverse effect of co-firing of biomass on the heat exchanger in the boiler

S&F Processes

Slagging and fouling

Due to high content of alkaline compounds in biomass

Corrosion

High temperature corrosion Chloride

Chlorine compounds in biomass

Pipe of the secondary superheater

X-ray

pitting corrosion

POWER GENERATING COMPANIES

WOULD NEVER DO THAT

WERE THEY NOT HEAVILY COMPENSATED

HOW IS IT DONE?

FOR EACH MWh of „GREEN ELECTRICITY”POWER GENERATORS

GET ABOUT 3 TIMES MORE THAN

they get for a coal-based MWh

this is (ca. 70 EUR / MWh)

this is a „hidden subsidy”which costs the Polish electrcity consumers

ca. 700mln EUR/year !

This policy is increasingly criticised by experts

Central Europe Project 4BIOMASS

opinion survey on a sample of

1221 biomass experts from:

Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia

www.4biomass.eu

*Authors: Katharina Renner, University of Vienna (statistical analysis)Johannes Schmidl, Kerstin Schilcher Austrian Energy AgencyVienna, September 2011

Weighted answers to the question: Which kind of biomass use will be most important to achieve the environmental-goals in your country?

CONCLUSION:

electricity generation from biomass

is NOT a good use of biomass

to achieve the environmental goals

The favoured alternative for countries with a climate similar to Poland is:

use biomass locally for heating

primarily in rural areas(where it grows)

this will minimise the transportation needs create local jobs and

help develop rural development

The basic principle of biomass strategy should be:

use biomass first of all locally

only if there is a surplus

you may trade it

(preferably with close neighbours)

Thank you

Location: Chrzelice ( southern Poland )Boiler type: EKOPAL RM 30 (100 kW)Application: heating of two single-family houses

Examples of applicationsChrzelice 100 kW

AGH, 180 kW