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bioenergy general concepts
Community BioEnergy
What is BioEnergy?
BioEnergy = Stored Solar Energy
BioEnergy or Biomass is really a form of stored solar energy. Plants absorb energy from the sun and convert it into cellulose. This cellulose, or plant matter, is one type of biomass that can be used to create usable energy. Moving up the food chain from plants, animals also produce, and are made up of, biomass. Practically, this means that there are many types of biomass and many types of conversion technologies to turn these resources into electricity and other forms of energy. Typically biomass energy production can be divided into the categories of biopower (for electricity generation) and biofuels (for petroleum substitutes). While the ability to store biomass and use it when you require energy, unlike wind or solar energy, is a plus, biomass’s diversity also makes it a very complicated resource. Some of the forms of biomass commonly used to produce energy are:
- Wood and wood waste
- Corn
- Soy
- Animal Waste
The biomass resource must be harvested sustainably to be considered a renewable resource.
How does biomass produce energy?
World-wide, the most common way to produce energy from biomass is through combustion. Wood and animal waste are used in many countries as fuel for cooking and space heating. In the Pacific Northwest, the majority of biomass energy is used by the wood products and pulp and paper industries. These industries burn waste wood products to provide heat for their manufacturing processes. The newer, and often cleaner, technologies that are being explored for biomass conversion are described below:
- Anaerobic Digestion/Landfill Gas Collection
- Pyrolysis/Gasification
- Fermentation
- Conversion to Bio-oil/Biodiesel
When is a biomass energy project appropriate?
When contemplating a community biomass project consider the following questions:
- What are the biomass resource opportunities in your area? (Dairy farms, crop rotations, landfills, timber, etc.)
- Who would use the electricity and other end products? (Utility PPA, on-site heating and electricity needs, fertilizer, etc.)
- Who would manage the project?
- Who would own the project?
- What are the financing opportunities? (Federal and state grants and loans, incentives, investors, etc.)
Another good source to reference is the "Fact Sheet - CHP Biopower/Anaerobic Digestion: Have you asked all the right questions?".
