This report includes summary information on 20 biomass power plants—18 in the UnitedStates, one in Canada, and one in Finland, which represent some of the leaders in theindustry. Table 1 lists the 20 plants in order of on-line date, the same order in which theyare presented in the report. In some cases, the on-line date means the date an older fossil-fired plant started using biomass fuel commercially (not its original on-line date). Some ofthe information in the table is abbreviated, but can be clarified by referring to the specificplant sections.Table 1Summary of Biomass Power Plants in this ReportThe on-line dates of the plants span about 18 years, from December 1979 to January 1998.The types of biomass fuels used are abbreviated: “mill” refers to mill wastes, etc. Manyboiler types are represented: six traveling grate stoker boilers, four water-cooled vibratinggrate boilers, four bubbling fluidized bed combustors (FBCs), one circulating fluidized bed(CFB) boiler, one fixed-grate boiler, one sloping grate boiler, and two pulverized coal (PC)boilers retrofitted to cofire solid or gasified biomass. Steam temperatures for the biomass fired boilers are 750°-980°F; for the PC boilers, 1004°-1005°F. The nominal sizes of theplants range from 10 MW to 79.5 MW.Electricity Generation and Fuel ConsumptionTable 2 lists the plants in order of electricity generation, in gigawatt-hours/yr (GWh/yr).For some plants, the generation numbers are actual statistics from a recent year (1996,1997, or 1998). For plants that did not provide these statistics, the generation rates wereestimated based on available information. The same is true for the annual CFs (CF, %) andnet plant heat rates (Btu/kWh). The biomass fuel consumptions were calculated bymultiplying GWh/yr times Btu/kWh, and dividing by 8.5 million Btu/t (4250 Btu/lb, or8500 Btu/dry lb with 50% moisture content).Table 2Plant Electricity Generation and Biomass Fuel Consumption Estimates PlantLocationMWe GWh/yr CF, % Btu/kWh Tons/yr*Williams LakeBritish Columbia 60.055810611,700768,000O keelanta (cogen) florida74.04547013,000694, 000ShastaCalifornia49.94189617,200846,000ColmacCalifornia49.03939012, 400573,000Stratton Maine45. 03539013,500561,000Kettle FallsWashington46.03278214,100542,000Snohomish (cogen) Washington39.02056017,000410, 000Ridge Florida40.02005716,000376, 000GraylingMichigan36.02006313,600320,000Bay FrontWisconsin30. 01646213,000251, 000McNeil Vermont50.01553514,000255,000Lahti (cogen) Finland25.01537014,000252,000 MultitradeVirginia79.51331914,000219,000Madera California25. 01316020,000308,000TracyCalifornia18.51308014,000214,000Camas (cogen)Washington17.0976517,000194,000Tacoma Washington40.0942720,000221,000GreenidgeNew York10.8768011,00098,000Chowchilla IICalifornia10.0536020,000125,000El NidoCalifornia 10.0536020,000125,000*Tons/year are calculated, assuming 4250 Btu/lb.

Download Lessons Learned from Existing Biomass Power Plants.Pdf