How to Make Biomass to Energy Work in Rural Towns of Alaska Keith Henn, Jeff Coombe, Floriano Ferreira, Jason Smith, Jason Jessup, & Ernie Hyatt April 30, 2013 www.tetratech.com
Tetra Tech, Inc. Leading provider of full-service consulting, engineering, project management and technical services worldwide $2.7B Revenue in FY 2012 13,000+ Employees 330 Offices Worldwide Offices: Anchorage Fairbanks Juneau 20% Energy 15% Infrastructure More than 100 completed projects in AK since 1983 Business Mix 65% Water & Environment Publicly owned (NASDAQ TTEK) 2
Drivers for Bioenergy & Waste to Energy #1 Energy, Savings & Jobs Electricity in remote locations >> $$$ (Kotzebue 42 / kwh) Diesel Prices - $6 to $11 / gallon Landfills >> High operation costs & tipping fees Job Creation & Economic Clusters #2 Secure Power and Landfill Diversion Local, base load OR dispatchable power Recycling, landfill diversion, value-added byproducts Negative-cost feedstock w/ Long-term contracts Potential funding Renewable Energy Credits (PTC 1.1c/kWh) Access to funding under advanced tech. pilot projects 3
3 Pillars of Bioenergy Project Pillar Key Project Attribute Feedstock Source Material Quantity and Quality Off-take Saleable Products Electricity, Heat, Byproducts Siting and Interconnects Physical Location Infrastructure Advantages Potential Conflicts 4
WtE Industry in the US ~100 strong! 6
Approach Feasibility Study Feedstock Assessment Evaluate Project Site Options Land Availability Infrastructure Interconnections Determine Optimal Plant Size Electrical Loading Thermal Loading Energy Off Takes Develop Conceptual Design Drawings & Calculations Mass & Energy Balance Process Flow diagram 7
Feedstock - Categories Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Construction & Demolition (C&D) Wood Chip wood (pulp-and-paper industry standard chip spec) Stewardship & stand thinning Logging slash Mill residues (sawdust & other waste) Fuel wood Agricultural residues 8
Feedstock MSW Unsorted MSW Widely available Difficult to handle / process Separation Steps Needed! Higher quality of Feedstock - consistent, homogenous Difficult to implement / reduced capture volume Construction & Demolition Waste and Urban Wood Wood, paper, cardboard focus Potential for EPA Biomass Designation 9
Available Feedstock Supply - Wood Product Logging Residue Mill Residue Thinning / Stewardship Chip wood Logging Residues - Slash Mitigation Forest Hazard Mitigation Beetle Kill 10
Material Recovery Facility (MRF) MSW MRF 20,000 tons/yr min throughput Metals recycling primary C&D MRF Aggregate recycling Shingles to hot mix = Value-added Recycling 11
Feedstock Preparation Courtesy Untha Shredders 12
Biomass to Energy Technology Technology spectrum Basic Combustion (Simple) Hybrid Gasification Gasification (Complex) Products Produced Thermal Heat Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Electricity for Operations (<1 to 10+ MW) Heating / Hot Water / Cooling Syngas / Pyrolysis Oils / Liquid Fuels 13
Standard Stoker Boiler Description Feedstock burned in a firebox which heats boiler to generate steam. Commonly used for woody biomass applications Optional - steam powered turbine to generate electricity & heat Pro s Well established & proven technology Simple to use and maintain. Con s Lower efficiencies than competing techs Requires homogenous feedstock (fiber) Slow response time Courtesy AFS Energy Systems, Inc 14
Hybrid Gasification Description Biomass consumed in limited oxygen to generate syngas Syngas is burned (boiler) to generate steam powering a turbine generating electricity and/or thermal energy Pro s Steam cycle well established Higher efficiency over combustion Con s Higher CapEx $10MM + Minimum size ~ 2MW CHP More complex 2 Stage System Source: Waste 2 Energy 15
Tetra Tech Experience WtE Projects 150+ bioenergy projects in all Kotzebue, AK West Slope Alaska - above Arctic Circle Diesel Powered Electricity 42 /kwh Diesel-fired Space Heating Waste-to-Energy Project Engineering Ho-Chunk Nation, Wisconsin Thule AFB, Greenland Rural Communities 4 of 5 regional landfills to be full by 2020 Waste-to Energy Opportunities Analysis Remote U.S. Air Force Base Diesel Powered Electricity Technology Cost / Benefit Analysis and Selection 16
Kotzebue Feedstock Overview 4,200 residents Total to Landfill: 1,310 tons / year (TPY) 3.5 tons / day (TPD) Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) 570 TPY 1.5 TPD Wet Weight Dry Weight Material (%) (tons/yr) Cardboard 18.7% 290 Food Waste 18.6% 90 Paper 14.1% 220 Plastics 12.3% 190 Metal 8.6% 140 Wood 6.5% 60 Glass 4.8% 80 Textiles 2.8% 40 Rubber 2.8% 40 Leather 2.8% 40 Garden Trimmings 0.0% Other 8.1% 130 Total 100.0% 1,310 Paper, Cardboard & Wood Fraction 39.3% 570 17
Kotzebue Energy Potential Source Separation Post Collection Material Recovery Facility (MRF) Energy Potential (disposed annually!) ~ 8 billion Btu s ~ 62,000 gallons of heating fuel Alternative Feedstock Pellets @ $300 per delivered ton1 ~ = $3 per gallon of diesel2 Heat Value Material (MM Btu /year) Cardboard 4,041.5 Food Waste 362.7 Paper 3,098.1 Plastics 5,350.3 Metal Wood 1,014.0 Glass Textiles 606.9 Rubber 899.2 Leather 590.1 Garden Trimmings Other Total 11,921 Paper, Cardboard & Wood Fraction 8,154 1. Superior Pellet Fuels Fairbanks 2. ½ price of heating fuel @ $6/gal 3. Reinhart (2004) http://www.msw.cecs.ucf.edu/thermochemical%20conversion.ppt 18
Kotzebue Technology Overview Scenario 1: RDF Boiler Paper Cardboard & Wood Scenario 2: MSW Gasifier All MSW Combustibles Feedstock Processing Sorted Material Shred & Densification Unsorted MSW Shredding Feedstock TPD Produced Feedstock BTU/Day Potential Combustion Stages Electricity Generation Air Emissions 1.5 3.5 22 MM 32 MM 1 Not economical May not require permit Non-hazardous Yes 2 Not economical Within regulatory limits Non-hazardous No Sorting process must eliminate contaminants Potential for emissions within city limits Parameter Feedstock Use Ash/Residuals Ability to import additional feedstock Operational Concerns 19
Technology Overview RDF Boiler 20
Kotzebue Technology Overview Landfill Diversion (ton/yr) Scenario 1 RDF Boiler 315 Scenario 2 MSW Gasifier 1,250 Fuel Oil Replaced (gal/yr) 31,000 100,000 Operators Needed 1 4 Throughput rate of Feedstock (TPD) Storage (cu. yds) 0.94 4.45 195 21 29 162 Facility Logistics Ash disposal (ton/year) 21
Kotzebue Financial Overview Scenario 1: RDF Boiler Scenario 2: MSW Gasifier 10-year Average Annual ROI 2.6% 4.8% 20-year Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 1.8% 4.7% Simple Payback in Years 18 12 Average Annual Income $40,000 $213,000 Total Project Investment $2,100,000 $4,900,000 Annual Project Costs ($/year) $56,000 $231,000 Annual Fuel Savings ($/year) $150,000 $500,000 Financial Projections Summary 22
Conclusion Kotzebue Feedstock currently landfilled ~ 8 billion BTU s ~ 62,000 gallons of heating fuel 2 good options that are both attractive RDF Boiler scenario would: Use 250 TPY of RDF Displace ~ 31,000 gallons of fuel oil annually Avoid ~ $201,000 @ $6.5 / gallon annually Divert ~315 tons from landfill annually Generate >10 Construction & 1 long term O&M jobs Create Economic Energy Cluster! 23
Take Home Message! Bioenergy / WtE are proven technologies Bioenergy / WtE uses local waste resources Systematic Evaluation process is required One size does not fit all Bioenergy / WtE can work in many rural towns!! 24
Thank you! Keith Henn Keith.Henn@tetratech.com 25