Yukon Energy Biomass Workshop Whitehorse, Yukon

Socioeconomic Considerations for BioEnergy Development

Presented by Paul Kishchuk, MA

203 – 301 Hawkins Street

Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 1X5 paul@vectorresearch.ca www.vectorresearch.ca

t: 867.668.3164

December 1, 2011

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Presentation Objective: To identify and discuss the socio-economic considerations relevant to the development of biomass- generated electricity in the Yukon.

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Biomass refers to cellular material from living or recently dead organisms and includes forest products and residues, recycled wood, energy crops, agricultural residues as well as the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, separated household waste and sewage sludge. BioEnergy is defined as energy produced by combusting biomass and includes both electricity and heat.

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Bioenergy Supply Chain

Biomass Fuel Source

ò Fuel Pretreatment

ò Fuel Transport

ò Combustion ð Heat

ò Electricity

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The tradeoffs and challenges are many: A. Fuel supply vs. fuel demand

B. Extent of fuel pretreatment required

C. Fuel transportation vs. use of waste heat

D. Plant scale vs. cost of electricity

E. Capture of economic benefits (e.g., employment)

F. Energy security

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A. Fuel supply vs. fuel demand Which comes first: fuel supply or fuel demand?

Too much demand too soon may mean local suppliers will not be able to deliver enough fuel to market, creates opportunity for outside suppliers and possible creation of a “barrier to entry” or “crowding out”.

How to stage development of industry and achieve low-enough cost electricity?

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Question: does distributed energy mean distributed benefits?

one 25MW plant = 25MW five 5MW plants = 25MW ten 2.5 MW plants = 25MW

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B. Extent of fuel pretreatment required Current biomass conversion technologies require quality and homogeneity in fuel supply, yet fuel quality from standing forest may be unpredictable. à fuel pretreatment may be required, may at the same time increase the energy density of the biomass à which in turn will alter the potential socio-economic benefits of industry development.

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Pelletising, an energy densification technique that can result in a bulk density 3.3 times higher than industrial softwood chips. Pyrolysis/gasification is the thermal decomposition of biomass occurring in the absence of oxygen that produces:

• a solid (charcoal); • a liquid (pyrolysis oil or bio-oil); • a product gas (syngas).

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“Torrefaction is a thermal process that involves slowly heating the biomass at 200-300°C in the absence of oxygen which degrades the biomass into a completely dry coal-like product. Torrefaction can be a highly efficient means of densification, with torrefied products retaining some 92% of the original feedstock energy.” [Fernando Preto, Biomass Energy Background Paper, April 2011]

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C. Fuel transportation vs. use of heat

“The principal means to significantly increase the overall efficiency of a power plant (and hence its competitiveness) is to find an economic application for its waste heat.” Co-generation has been shown to reduce the cost of power production by 40% to 60% for plants in the range of 1 to 30 MWe.” [Fernando Preto, Biomass Energy Background Paper, April 2011]

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But heat cannot be transported, it needs to be used proximate to the location of combustion. At the same time, wood chips are bulky to transport, constraining cost-effectiveness of a project (coal faces a similar constraint, thus coal is shipped by rail not by truck). ...and waste heat is only needed in the winter, yet for a biomass plant to be efficient enough to be economic, it may need to be run year round.

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D. Plant scale vs. cost of electricity

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E. Capture of economic benefits (e.g., employment)

Source: United Nations Environment Programme (2008). Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World.

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According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S. Department of Energy), “biomass power plants require 4.9 workers per MW of installed capacity” (including power plant employees and support workers). [G. Morris, The Value of the Benefits of U.S. Biomass Power, 1999]

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F. Energy security If a Bioenergy facility was fueled with Yukon-sourced biomass, two principles of the Energy Strategy for Yukon would be addressed:

Energy security: providing a secure and reliable supply of energy for Yukon.

Self-sufficiency: responsibly developing Yukon’s energy resources to meet energy needs.