POWER-GENERATION POTENTIAL OF BIOMASS GASIFICATION SYSTEMS

Biomass has the potential to contribute a significant portion of the e lectricity consumed in industrialized nations and a major share of the power mix in developing countries. In addition to providing an altern ative to fossil-fuel-based energy and creating new markets for agricul ture, a renewable resource like biomass used in a sustainable fashion facilitates closure of the carbon cycle. To realize these benefits, pa rticularly in the shadow of uncertainties cast by deregulation and rec ent changes in federal energy and agricultural policies, biomass power systems must be competitive with incumbent power-generation technolog ies in terms of generation efficiency and overall cost. Anticipated pe rformance and cost of biomass-based integrated gasification, combined- cycle power systems are discussed. The electric power that can be gene rated worldwide using existing biomass resources (primarily crop resid ues and wastes) and the potential amount that could be generated from crops grown specifically for electricity generation are projected. Tec hnical and economic obstacles that must be overcome before advanced bi omass-power systems based on aeroderivative turbines or fuel cells can become fully commercial are identified. Research, development, and de monstration efforts under way or being planned to overcome those obsta cles are described; developments in a major biomass gasification demon stration project taking place in Hawaii under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy and the State of Hawaii are detailed.