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Technoeconomic assessment of beetle kill biomass co-firing in existing coal fired power plants in the Western United States

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  • Beagle, E.
  • Belmont, E.

Abstract

Widespread mortality of forests in the western United States due to a bark beetle epidemic provides a source of biomass for power generation. This study assessed availability and economics of co-firing beetle kill biomass with coal in power plants in the western U.S. Since biomass may be considered carbon neutral under careful management, co-combustion of biomass with coal provides power plants a way to meet emission reduction requirements, such as those in the EPA Clean Power Plan (CPP). Cost has been a barrier to co-firing, but the economics are altered by emission reduction requirements, such as CPP guidelines. The present study assessed beetle kill biomass availability in national forests in Wyoming and Colorado through Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis of U.S. Forest Service (USFS) data. Power plants near beetle kill mortality were identified as candidates for co-firing. An economic assessment of costs to implement co-firing was conducted. Co-firing reduces the need for the USFS to manage beetle kill trees when they are harvested for energy use, and these mitigated treatment costs were considered as an effective subsidy of co-firing. The results of this analysis include beetle kill availability, costs, and annual CO2 emissions reductions that can be met by co-firing.

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  • Beagle, E. & Belmont, E., 2016. "Technoeconomic assessment of beetle kill biomass co-firing in existing coal fired power plants in the Western United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 429-438.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:97:y:2016:i:c:p:429-438
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2016.07.053
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Beagle, E. & Belmont, E., 2019. "Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass utilization for electricity generation in the European Union and the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 267-275.
    2. Xu, Jiuping & Huang, Qian & Lv, Chengwei & Feng, Qing & Wang, Fengjuan, 2018. "Carbon emissions reductions oriented dynamic equilibrium strategy using biomass-coal co-firing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 184-197.
    3. Robert M. Campbell & Nathaniel M. Anderson & Daren E. Daugaard & Helen T. Naughton, 2018. "Technoeconomic and Policy Drivers of Project Performance for Bioenergy Alternatives Using Biomass from Beetle-Killed Trees," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    4. Nguyen Van Song & Thai Van Ha & Tran Duc Thuan & Nguyen Van Hanh & Dinh Van Tien & Nguyen Cong Tiep & Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong & Phan Anh Tu & Tran Ba Uan, 2021. "Development of Rice Husk Power Plants Based on Clean Development Mechanism: A Case Study in Mekong River Delta, Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-10, June.

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