US consulting firm KEMA sees biomass energy key to meeting US carbon objectives, keeping electricity affordable

1st July 2009

The Obama Administration and Congress’s historic focus on energy and climate change have introduced significant regulatory uncertainty in generation planning and operations, according to US consulting firm KEMA, which has issued its perspective on leveraging co-firing biomass with coal to address carbon in the existing US power generation asset base.

Biomass co-firing technology can provide a path to addressing climate change while mitigating costs to the nation’s coal-generation base and the customers served, the company said.

KEMA has been actively engaged in supporting biomass co-firing initiatives already underway in Europe and the Netherlands for over a decade. Full scale commercial co-firing of at least ten percent biomass - based on heat input - is a daily practice there, with a wide variety of bio-fuels and co-firing configurations.

While biomass co-firing technology has been demonstrated in many boiler types, the US currently does not use this approach due to a lack of incentives and a general reluctance to introduce new fuels into boilers. However, as the US government continues to actively pursue carbon and other environmental policies and regulations, co-generation from biomass, waste, and recovered fuels is beginning to be evaluated for use in US power generation assets.

Founded in 1927, KEMA is a global provider of business and technical consulting, operational support, measurement and inspection, testing and certification for the energy and utility industry.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet