Wood Pellet Plant Tour
Take a look at the process of making wood pellets
How much does bioenergy cost
The answer is as varied as the technologies and forms of biomass under consideration. In short, since there are different combinations of biomass feedstocks and biomass conversion technologies, the number of different estimates will equal the number of different feedstock-technology combinations.
Feedstocks
For self-use in the forest products industry, which is the leading owner of biomass generation in Michigan and Maine, biomass is essentially free. Purchasing forestry-produced biomass will cost between $0.50 and $3 per million Btu (mmBtu), with economically successful projects paying less than $1.50/mmBtu.
In the agricultural residue sector, the largest available sources of energy are from corn stover and wheat straw. Corn stover is presumed to sell for $30/ton. Wheat straw is more at $32-$54/ton [1], however the EIA estimates that it only costs $20/bale for farmers to recoup costs associated with lost nutrients and transportation. By 2020, agricultural and forestry residues will be available at $5/mmbtu. [2].
Urban wood waste and mill residues are available at $1/mmBtu. The cost of collecting urban wood waste and mill residues are currently expected to range from $0-$8 per wet ton for mill residues and from $10-14 per wet ton for urban residues [2].
Burnable municipal solid waste (MSW) is usually landfilled for a fee. Thus, it has a negative fuel price. However, plant operators must process MSW to eliminate toxics. They also need to install emissions control equipment.
Dedicated feedstocks, such as woody and herbaceous crops, cost almost 3 times more than residues ($2.50 per Gigajoule [GJ] compared to $0.95/GJ). Energy crops are available for $2.30/ million btu.
By comparison, the cheapest coal costs between $1.50 to $2 per mmBtu. Natural gas costs $3 to $4 per mmBtu. Overall, biomass is competitive when compared with other combustion fuels available.
