Biomass is a renewable power source, and can be anything from energy crops to agricultural or forestry residues and waste. Biomass can be utilized as a supply of energy and it most generally refers to plants or plant-based components which are not used for food or feed, and are particularly referred to as lignocellulosic biomass 1 As an power source, biomass can either be utilized straight through combustion to create heat, or indirectly just after converting it to a variety of types of biofuel Conversion of biomass to biofuel can be achieved by diverse approaches which are broadly classified into: thermal, chemical, and biochemical solutions.
As such, in a lot of places of the planet exactly where the wind resource is really superior, wind power is now in a position to compete with all other types of generation even without any type of government help, and so this is at present the renewable power source which is adding most capacity each year.
Also, considerable collaboration is occurring with sorghum seed businesses in the improvement and/or commercialization of varieties (F4 hybrids, cultivars) creating high yields (~30 green tons per harvest) and higher Brix (sugar content) that can be grown year-round in Florida’s warm climate offering crop feedstocks (not competing with meals markets) for ethanol and other biofuel production.
Despite substantial increases in the price of crude oil throughout 2006 and 2007, as effectively as an improve in the coal prices, the production expense of several bio-energy fuels still do not match the production prices of fossil fuels, such as coal.
The following table illustrates this concept of net cash production cost (also referred to as income requirements or the needed price tag to recover all fees) reflecting (A) carbon credits at ~$20 per metric ton (B) the tax money savings from liberalized tax depreciation (bonus depreciation below the Financial Stimulus Act).
