Economic sensitivity of wood biomass utilization for greenhouse heating application

• Published in: Applied energy Vol. 86; no. 5; pp. 616 - 621
• Main Authors: Chau, J., Sowlati, T., Sokhansanj, S., Preto, F., Melin, S., Bi, X.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2009; Elsevier
• Series: Applied Energy
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Economic data; Economic evaluation; Energy; Energy economics; Exact sciences and technology; General, economic and professional studies; Greenhouses; Miscellaneous; Natural energy; Nuclear polyhedrosis virus; Sensitivity analysis; Sensitivity analysis Economic evaluation Greenhouses Wood pellets Wood residue Wood biomass boiler; Solar energy; Wood biomass boiler; Wood pellets; Wood residue; Canada, British Columbia; Sensitivity analysis; Wood pellets; Economic evaluation; Greenhouses; Wood residue; Wood biomass boiler; Economic analysis; Economic value; Wood; Heat production; Biomass; Heating; Price; Production capacity; Greenhouse; Cost analysis; Natural gas
• ISSN: 0306-2619; 1872-9118
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2008.11.005

This paper presents an analysis of the impacts of technical and market changes on the economic feasibility of using wood biomass to produce heat for an average-sized greenhouse in British Columbia. A previous techno-economic analysis determined that the installation of a wood pellet or a wood residue boiler to generate 40% of the greenhouse heat demand is more economical than using a natural gas boiler alone to generate all the heat [1]. As the techno-economic analysis contained forecasted parameters, a thorough sensitivity analysis is needed for sound decision making. This paper extends the previous techno-economic study by assessing the effect of fuel price, wood biomass energy contribution, and greenhouse size changes on the net present value (NPV) when using a wood pellet or wood residue boiler with or without an electrostatic precipitator (ESP). The results indicate that the attractiveness of using wood biomass will increase if the price of fossil fuels increases more than 3% per year or carbon taxes and regulations are applied. Increasing the biomass energy contribution by 20% (to provide 60% of the total heat demand) would still be economical. The installation of a wood pellet boiler or a wood residue boiler is economical for average (7.5 ha) or large (15 ha) greenhouses.