Chinese biomass plant that sells carbon credits to Electricité de France comes online
A biomass-fired power plant that burns plant and vegetable stalks to generate electricity went into operation today in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The power plant, with an installed capacity of 30MW, is expected to burn more than 200,000 tons of stalks annually and generate 175 million kwh of electricity, according to Wang Jun'an, executive general manager of the Guoneng Wangkui Bio Energy Company in Wangkui County, Heilongjiang Province. Carbon credits will be sold to Electricité de France (EDF), the European state-owned energy giant.
The plant is the first of its kind in northeast China. The National Bio Energy Company (NBE), Ltd, a subsidiary of the State Grid Corporation of China, has earmarked 553 million yuan ($74 million) for the project. NBE currently operates six working biomass plants throughout the People's Republic. But it aims to have around 30 such plants with a combined capacity of 2,050 megawatts under construction and in operation by 2010 (previous post and here; click map to visit an interactive presentation).
As reported earlier, the plant will sell certified emission reduction (CERs) credits to EDF under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Last year, EDF Trading signed a letter of intent with China National Bio Energy Co Ltd to purchase carbon credits from three of its biomass power projects, equivalent to 1.5 million tons of CO2. NBE's two other projects under contract with EDF are located in East China's Shandong Province and Northeast China's Jilin provinces (earlier post).
The CDM, an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol, allows industrialized countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries. It is considered an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in industrialized countries:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: carbon dioxide :: emissions :: clean development mechanism :: China :: France ::
The National Bio Energy Company, which promotes China's renewable energy industry through biomass power generation, aims to generate 55 percent of the country's biomass power in 2010.
According to China's newest renewable energy development targets, biomass power will become the second largest sector after hydropower and grow almost three-fold to reach 5.5 GW in 2010 from 2 GW in 2005, and 15 times as much by 2020, to 30 GW (earlier post on China's new $265 billion Renewables Program).
References:
Xinhuanet: Biomass-fired power plant starts operation in NE China - November 5, 2007.
Biopact: A closer look at China's biomass power plants - April 19, 2007
Biopact: Expert: China's biomass power plants to be profitable in three years - October 30, 2007
Biopact: China unveils $265 billion renewable energy plan, aims for 15% renewables by 2020 - September 06, 2007
Biopact: French energy giant to buy carbon credits from Chinese biomass projects - October 26, 2006
Article continues
The plant is the first of its kind in northeast China. The National Bio Energy Company (NBE), Ltd, a subsidiary of the State Grid Corporation of China, has earmarked 553 million yuan ($74 million) for the project. NBE currently operates six working biomass plants throughout the People's Republic. But it aims to have around 30 such plants with a combined capacity of 2,050 megawatts under construction and in operation by 2010 (previous post and here; click map to visit an interactive presentation).
As reported earlier, the plant will sell certified emission reduction (CERs) credits to EDF under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Last year, EDF Trading signed a letter of intent with China National Bio Energy Co Ltd to purchase carbon credits from three of its biomass power projects, equivalent to 1.5 million tons of CO2. NBE's two other projects under contract with EDF are located in East China's Shandong Province and Northeast China's Jilin provinces (earlier post).
The CDM, an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol, allows industrialized countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries. It is considered an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in industrialized countries:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: carbon dioxide :: emissions :: clean development mechanism :: China :: France ::
The National Bio Energy Company, which promotes China's renewable energy industry through biomass power generation, aims to generate 55 percent of the country's biomass power in 2010.
According to China's newest renewable energy development targets, biomass power will become the second largest sector after hydropower and grow almost three-fold to reach 5.5 GW in 2010 from 2 GW in 2005, and 15 times as much by 2020, to 30 GW (earlier post on China's new $265 billion Renewables Program).
References:
Xinhuanet: Biomass-fired power plant starts operation in NE China - November 5, 2007.
Biopact: A closer look at China's biomass power plants - April 19, 2007
Biopact: Expert: China's biomass power plants to be profitable in three years - October 30, 2007
Biopact: China unveils $265 billion renewable energy plan, aims for 15% renewables by 2020 - September 06, 2007
Biopact: French energy giant to buy carbon credits from Chinese biomass projects - October 26, 2006
Article continues
Monday, November 05, 2007
Large glycerin surplus from the production of biodiesel seen by 2010
Currently glycerin has a relatively high price making its use as an energy source prohibitive today. But the exponential growth of its production will eventually exceed its current demand for traditional uses, which is mainly in the synthesis of pharmaceutical products. According to data from the European Biodiesel Board, over three million tons of biodiesel were produced in 2005, which represents a growth of 64,7% with respect to 2004. In 2006 there was a production of five million tons, a 54% rise from the previous year. And it is believed that output will continue on this trend, with a yearly production of 10 million tons of biodiesel expected by 2010 and therefore around a million tons of glycerin. This underscores the importance of finding new applications for this by-product.
One of the more recent alternatives, and the one under investigation by the (URJC) research group directed by Juan Antonio Melero, consist of the transformation of glycerin into products that could partially replace diesel in a cost-competitive manner, with the added advantage that the compounds produced (glycerin ethers) added to diesel in certain proportions, improve the low temperature response, reducing its viscosity and contaminant emissions of the diesel:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: glycerin :: glycerol ::
Other researchers have found cost-effective ways to use crude glycerin as feedstock for new types of biopolymers, bioplastic films, and green specialty chemicals such as propylene glycol. Others found glycerin makes for a suitable cattle and poultry feed or for the production of biogas.
Most recently researchers at Rice University in Houston announced they developed a way to convert glycerin into ethanol. Both sectors are now linked and could create synergies that make both more efficient (previous post).
References:
AlphaGalileo: By 2010 there will be a large glycerin surplus from the production of biodiesel - November 5, 2007.
Biopact: Scientists convert biodiesel byproduct glycerin into ethanol - November 04, 2007
Biopact: GS CleanTech to produce biodiesel from corn ethanol co-product - October 23, 2007
Biopact: The bioeconomy at work: Dow develops propylene glycol from biodiesel residue - March 19, 2007
Biopact: Students patent biopolymer made from biodiesel and wine byproducts - June 20, 2007
Biopact: Researchers make biodegradable films from biofuel and dairy byproducts - June 11, 2007
Biopact: Researchers study effectiveness of glycerin as cattle feed - May 25, 2007
Biopact: Biodiesel byproduct glycerine makes excellent chicken food - August 04, 2006
Biopact: Glycerin as a biogas feedstock - December 27, 2006
Article continues
posted by Biopact team at 5:57 PM 0 comments links to this post