Teamwork Energy Bureau Services Limited

Kings Court, 87 – 89 High Street,

Nailsea, Bristol. BS48 1AW
Tel: +44 (0) 1275 859100
Fax: +44 (0) 1275 853865
Email: martin.jaehme@tebs.uk.com
Web: www.tebs.uk.com
Please contact Martin Jaehme for further information.

BIOMASS FIRED BOILER PLANT CASE STUDY

Teamwork is a medium sized energy management consultancy that specialises in managing all aspects of energy and utilities for
multi-site property portfolios. Teamwork operates in both the public and private sector to deliver effective energy management
across a broad spectrum.

THE LONG TERM BENEFITS OF BIOMASS OVER The average net unit cost of biomass fuels derived from forest
CONVENTIONAL FOSSIL FUEL BASED ENERGY wood waste and wood product recycling in the UK is approximately
SOURCES 1.0 p/kWh and 2.2 p/kWh for wood chip and wood pellet
respectively. Unlike the cost of fossil fuels, the price of biomass is
The recent high profile news articles regarding the spiraling expected to stabilise or even reduce.
cost of energy and the impact of the burning of fossil fuels on
climate change have highlighted the need for practical cost This is due to the fact that it is an emerging commodity and the
effective non-fossil fuel alternatives such as biomass. biomass industry is expanding and benefiting from increasing
economises of scale and market share thereby reducing prices.
The cost of fossil fuel based energy sources in past years Indeed the biomass industry predicts that the availability of biomass
has been at an all time low and this has acted as a barrier to fuels will increase in line with demand thereby allaying worries that
the take up of alternative energy sources such as biomass. demand may outstrip supply.

However all that is set to change as the long term cost of Comparison of Future Gas & Biomass Supply Costs

gas and electricity is set to rise significantly over the next 10- Gas 5% Gas 10% Gas 15% Wood Pellet 3% Wood Chip 3%

16.000
20 years due to a combination of dwindling resources, global Gas 15%

instability and market forces. Indeed we have already seen 14.000

Gas 10%
significant rises in fossil fuel based energy costs in recent 12.000
years.
Supply Costs (p /kWh)

10.000

In addition the recent EU Directive on energy in buildings 8.000

Gas 5%
and the Part L Conservation of Heat and Power of the UK
6.000
building regulations call for strict reductions in the carbon
emissions of new and refurbished buildings. 4.000
Wood Pellet 3%

2.000

Biomass is now seen as a credible alternative to fossil fuels Wood Chip 3%

as both an alternative to gas for heating and hot water -

0 5 10 15 20 25

generation and electricity through biomass fired combined Concession Period (Years)

heat and power systems.

The comparison clearly shows the potential long-term cost saving
Traditional biomass is the term used to describe energy from switching from fossil fuel to biomass alternatives. However
derived from plants and animals such as wood, grass, rape this is not the whole story as:-
seed, sugar cane, pig and chicken litter to mention but a few.
In the UK, the majority of biomass fuel for providing heat and • Biomass installations are exempt from climate change
power in buildings is derived from forest wood waste and levy, currently 0.15 p/kWh and 0.43 p/kWh for gas and
wood product recycling. electricity respectively.
• The DTI's Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) will
COMPARISON OF BIOMASS AND FOSSIL FUEL UTILITY
provide capital grants for eligible installations.
SUPPLY COSTS
• Biomass is a 100% carbon neutral fuel.
• Biomass can aid compliance with the Building Regulations
The average net unit cost of gas and electricity for large
Part L Conservation of Heat and Power at reduced
users in the UK is approximately 2.0-3.0 p/kWh and 5.0-7.0
construction costs.
p/kWh, respectively, excluding CCL and VAT. These prices
are set to rise significantly over the next 10-20 years.

The following comparison assumes a range of future gas

and electricity prices based on 5%, 10% and 15% year on
year rises, respectively for gas and 3% for biomass fuels, to
give a balanced argument of the benefits from biomass as
an alternative to fossil fuels.
Teamwork Energy Bureau Services Limited
Kings Court, 87 – 89 High Street,
Nailsea, Bristol. BS48 1AW
Tel: +44 (0) 1275 859100
Fax: +44 (0) 1275 853865
Email: martin.jaehme@tebs.uk.com
Web: www.tebs.uk.com
Please contact Martin Jaehme for further information.

BIOMASS FIRED BOILER PLANT CASE STUDY (Con’t)

Teamwork is a medium sized energy management consultancy that specialises in managing all aspects of energy and utilities for
multi-site property portfolios. Teamwork operates in both the public and private sector to deliver effective energy management
across a broad spectrum.

Comparison of Future Gas and Biomass Supply Costs Comparrison of Wood Chip and Pellet Biomass Boiler Installation

Wood Chip Vs Gas SPB Wood Pellet Vs Gas SPB

Annual %
10.0
Price Rise 3% 5% 10% 15% 3% 3%
Fuel Gas Gas Gas Gas Wood Pellet W ood Chip 9.0
Year p/Wh p/Wh p/Wh p/Wh p/Wh p/Wh
8.0
0 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.300 1.000 Wood Pellet Vs Gas SPB
1 2.060 2.100 2.200 2.300 2.369 1.030 Simple Payback (years)
7.0
2 2.122 2.205 2.420 2.645 2.440 1.061
6.0
3 2.185 2.315 2.662 3.042 2.513 1.093
4 2.251 2.431 2.928 3.498 2.589 1.126 5.0
5 2.319 2.553 3.221 4.023 2.666 1.159
4.0
6 2.388 2.680 3.543 4.626 2.746 1.194
7 2.460 2.814 3.897 5.320 2.829 1.230 3.0
8 2.534 2.955 4.287 6.118 2.914 1.267 Wood Chip Vs Gas SPB
2.0
9 2.610 3.103 4.716 7.036 3.001 1.305
10 2.688 3.258 5.187 8.091 3.091 1.344 1.0
11 2.768 3.421 5.706 9.305 3.184 1.384
-
12 2.852 3.592 6.277 10.701 3.279 1.426
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
13 2.937 3.771 6.905 12.306 3.378 1.469 2.4 p/kWh 3.7 p/kWh Gas Cost (p/Wh)
14 3.025 3.960 7.595 14.151 3.479 1.513
15 3.116 4.158 8.354 16.274 3.583 1.558
16 3.209 4.366 9.190 18.715 3.691 1.605
17 3.306 4.584 10.109 21.523 3.802 1.653
18 3.405 4.813 11.120 24.751 3.916 1.702 The results of the example are summarised in the graph above
19 3.507 5.054 12.232 28.464 4.033 1.754
20 3.612 5.307 13.455 32.733 4.154 1.806 showing the relative benefits of wood chip and wood pellet
21 3.721 5.572 14.800 37.643 4.279 1.860 biomass fired boiler plant against conventional gas fired boiler
22 3.832 5.851 16.281 43.289 4.407 1.916
23 3.947 6.143 17.909 49.783 4.539 1.974
plant in terms of simple payback. The results show that to
24 4.066 6.450 19.699 57.250 4.675 2.033 achieve a simple payback of 3 years the cost of gas would only
25 4.188 6.773 21.669 65.838 4.816 2.094
have rise to 2.4 p/kWh and 3.7 p/kWh for wood chip and wood
pellet biomass boiler plant respectively.
COMPARISON OF BIOMASS AND FOSSIL FUELED
BOILER PLANT To put this in perspective, based on the current cost of gas of 2.0
p/kWh and a conservative year on year price rise in gas of 10%, it
To demonstrate the financial benefit of biomass fired boiler would take 1.9 years for gas prices to rise to 2.4 p/kWh for wood
plant over conventional gas fired boiler plant, the following chip biomass boiler plant to have a SPB of 3 years and 6.5 years
example based on the predicted future energy requirements for gas prices to rise to 3.7 p/kWh for wood pellet biomass boiler
of a large industrial site has been used. The example is plant to have a SPB of 3 years respectively.
based on a centralised district heating system to supply the
heating and hot water demands in order to utilise economy In addition to the cost savings the biomass-fired boiler plant also
of scale. saves over 7,200 tonnes of CO2 per annum compared to
conventional gas fired boiler plant.
Annual Fossil Fuel 78,059,078 kWh per annum
Estimated boiler capacity 32,799 KW th
Biomass Capital cost 150 £/kW
Biomass Capital cost £4,919,790
Gas Capital cost 50 £/kW
Gas Capital cost £1,639,930
Biomass On-Cost £3,279,860
Wood chip biomass .1.0 p/kWh @4,000 kWh/ tonne
Wood pellet biomass 2.2 p/kWh @ 5,000 kWh/ tonne
Wood chip biomass 9,500 tonnes per annum
Wood pellet biomass 7,600 tonnes per annum

Teamwork Energy Bureau Services Ltd.

Registered in England
Company Registration No. 04382357