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Renewable Energy: Biomass

Question: What is Biomass?

Answer: Biomass is the organic matter produced by plants. It is available in the form of agricultural crop residues, agro industrial residue and forest residues. Agricultural crop residues include straw, leaves, stems, stalks etc. Agro-Industrial residues include husk, shells, pith etc. Forest residues may include fallen leaves, branches, tree trunks, etc.

Question: What is the quantity of biomass requierd per MW of power generation?

Answer: The quantity of biomass required per MW of power generation depends on characteristics of the biomass under consideration and mainly depends on the calorific value of the biomass. For an average calorific value of 3000 kcal/kg, the biomass required per MW of power generation is approximately 1.2 Ton / Hr.

Question: What is the successful technological route of biomass based power project?

Answer: For biomass based power plants above 1 MW capacity, the successful technological route which is being mostly implemented world over is the COMBUSTION OF BIOMASS FUEL. In this route the biomass is fired directly in the boiler to generate steam and the steam is passed to a Steam Turbine Generator set to generate electric power.

Question: What are the important factors for selecting a location for a biomass project?

Answer: The most important factor is the availability of sufficient quantity of biomass at reasonable price. The other factors which influence the selection of plant location are sufficient quantity of Water and Grid Connectivity.

Question: What is the investment requiered per MW?

Answer: The investment also depends on the type of the biomass and other factors like water availability, grid connectivity etc. For a typical biomass based power plant where all the resources are available, the investment will be around Rs.40 Million or US$ 889,000 per MW.