A comment on the optimal sizing of a biomass utilization facility under constant and variable cost scaling

Two solutions are obtained for the optimal size of a biomass utilization facility subject to an economy of scale in capital and non-fuel operating costs. The conventional assumption of constant-scaling parameter over all capacities leads to a larger optimum than if the scaling factor is increased as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBiomass & bioenergy Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 1 - 9
Main Author Jenkins, B.M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 1997
Subjects
Biomass facilities
constant scaling
costs
economics
optimization
power plants
scaling factor
sensitivity analysis
variable scaling
costs
power plants
economics
optimization
sensitivity analysis
variable scaling
scaling factor
Biomass facilities
constant scaling
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Summary:Two solutions are obtained for the optimal size of a biomass utilization facility subject to an economy of scale in capital and non-fuel operating costs. The conventional assumption of constant-scaling parameter over all capacities leads to a larger optimum than if the scaling factor is increased asymptotically towards 1 with increasing capacity to reflect technical and economic constraints or risks. Lack of appropriate scaling data for larger size makes the question of general optimization for biomass facilities uncertain, and conclusions regarding development policies based on assumptions of constant cost scaling should be carefully tested.
ISSN:0961-9534
1873-2909
DOI:10.1016/S0961-9534(97)00085-8