Industrial Combined Heat and Power

Biomass projects that generate electrical power at industrial locations also generate enough heat to be productively used. Making use of this waste heat increases the project's overall cost-efficiency.

BERC has worked on two potential demonstration projects of industrial CHP, or combined heat and power:

1. BERC is the lead developer of a 300 kilowatt wood gasifier demonstration project . Gasifiers are an emerging commercial technology that converts biomass into a gas that can be used in a variety of engines and generators, including gas-combustion turbines and potentially also fuel cells. Gasifiers are much cleaner and more efficient than conventional steam boiler-driven turbines - and BERC is playing a lead role in developing industrial-scale gasifier projects that can serve as demonstrations for industry.

BERC carried out an extensive global search of near-commercial wood gasifiers, finally selecting the Ankur gasifier from India. The project will test an existing Ankur gasifier at EERC in North Dakota, document the engine emissions, install a new gasifier, and go through air permitting prior to regular operation as a demonstration.

Funding for this project comes from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC).

2. Also in western Massachusetts, BERC carried out a preliminary study that assessed the potential for, and benefits from, a biomass power project generating about 10 megawatts at an industrial site. The study examined proven advanced and low-emissions biomass systems, along with other technologies close to commercialization. Preliminary conclusions were that several technologies are both technically and economically feasible.

To be commercially successful, the project would need to maximize efficiency - and the optimal approach, BERC recommended, would be a CHP (combined heat and power) plant. Supplying waste heat from this power plant would increase overall operating efficiency and profitability. The project would need to be located close to a large user of heat energy, and relatively close to the wood supply.

For the proposed project site, as in many other current and potential biomass projects, available Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) play a key role in making the economics cost effective. RECs are "green" credits that utilities can obtain by investing in renewable energy projects—such as biomass—to help them meet state quotas for renewable power production.