Logis&cs

of supplying wood pellets to the coal-

red power plants in Alberta
Dr. Mahmood Ebadian, Ryan Jacobson, Dr. Fahimeh Yazdanpanah, Dr. Shahab
Sokhansanj

Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group

Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, UBC

Biomass Coring Workshop, Edmonton, May 4, 2016

Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group (BBRG)

UBC biomass gasier

Biomass logis&cs modeling

Biomass dryer

Biomass engineering lab

Pellet mill

Hammer mill

Wood pellet storage

Woody and Herbaceous Pellet Samples

Aspen

Douglas fir Switchgrass

Corn Stover

Miscanthus

Wheat straw

Industrial Projects in North America

Feasibility Study of
coring wood
pellets with coal

Logis'cs of wheat straw

for the proposed Iogen
cellulosic ethanol plant

UBC
Gasica'on
facility

Logis'cs of corn stover for

the OPG power facility in
Lambton

Boeing-UBC
Biojet Project
Logis'cs of woody biomass
and pellet distribu'on for
two pellet plants
Logis'cs of corn stover for
the DuPont cellulosic
ethanol plant

Logis'cs of corn stover for

the BIC Cellulosic Sugar
Plant in Sarnia

Logis'cs of Miscanthus for

the proposed Chemtex
cellulosic ethanol plant

Decarboniza&on of the electricity genera&on in Alberta

Reduce the carbon intensity of the power eet
Minimize the social and economic costs of the Climate Leadership Plan
G of Alberta Maintain the reliability of the electricity grid and the stability of prices for consumers

Avoid unnecessarily stranding capital

Coal Power Stay compe&&ve in the electricity market
Fleet

Local
communi&es

Stabilize the job market in the small towns that have economies based coal mines and
their associated power plants

Maximize the value extracted from wood bre

Diversity market/product
Create new income streams and stay compe&&ve in demo&c and interna&onal markets
Forest Sector Find less carbon intensive disposal solu&ons for their logging residues
Create jobs in local communi&es

Albertas Coal-red Power Fleet

Sta&on Unit
Ba]le River
3
4
5

Capacity (MW)

150
150
370

Year Completed
(Age)

Age Composi&on

1969 (46)
1975 (40)
1981 (34)

Genesee
1
2
3

410
410
495

1989 (26)
1994 (21)
2005 (10)

HR Milner
1

150

1972 (43)

Keephills
1
2
3

406
409
495

1983 (32)
1983 (32)
2011 (4)

Sheerness
1
2

380
380

1986 (29)
1990 (25)

Sundance
1
2
3
4
5
6

280
280
406
392
392
392

1970 (46)
1973 (43)
1976 (39)
1977 (38)
1978 (37)
1980 (35)

5
4

Albertas coal-red power plants

0-10

10-20

20-30

30-40

40-50

Source: Environment Canada, 2013; IPPCA, 2015; Barr and

Morgan, 2015-Na'onal Post

Albertas Coal-red Power Fleet

}Albertas coal-red power eet is subject to the Federal emission-intensity
regula&on which requires coal-red genera&ng sta&ons to re&re by their 50th year
or retrot so that they can meet stringent performance standard of 420 tonnes of
CO2-eq/GWh.

Changes in the capacity of coal-red genera&ng sta&ons according to the Federal

emission-intensity regula&on (IPPCA, 2015)

Flow of wood bre within the AB forest industry

Unharvested standing &mbers: 2.93 M odt

Logging residues:
4 M odt

Source: Government of Alberta, 2014; FPInnova'ons, 2010; JACOBS Consultancy,

Forest Industry in Alberta

} 7 pulp mills (4 krag pulp mills, 2 Bleached
Chemi-Thermomechanical Pulp (BCTMP) and
one newsprint mill)
} 24 sawmills
} 6 panelboard mills
} one laminated veneer lumber facility
} one veneer sawmill
} one berboard mill

Source: Government of Alberta, 2014; FPInnova'ons, 2010;

JACOBS Consultancy, 2013.

Availability of wood bre in Alberta

Million dry tonnes

2.50

2.26

Increase in volume over approved

AAC (undersized trees)-Deciduous

2.13

2.00

Increase in volume over approved

AAC (undersized trees)- Coniferous

1.65

Forest residues

1.50

0.93
1.00

0.50

Standing &mber

0.64
0.003

0.27

0.00

} Total availability of underu&lized sources of woody biomass including standing &mbers and forest residues is
es&mated to be 7.88 M Odt.
Source: Government of Alberta, 2010, 2014; FPInnova'ons, 2010; JACOBS Consultancy, 2013.

Private lands in Alberta

}A land area of 3.6 Mha, roughly 10% of the
Green Area
}1.2 million ha of coniferous, 2.2 million ha of
deciduous and, 0.2 million ha of mixedwood.
} Landholder prole: 92% in rural areas and 8%
in urban areas
}Average annual harvest in private forestlands is
~2-3 wet tonnes.

Source: MNP LLP, 2012; Pers. comm. Toso Bosic, April 2016 .

Flow of wood bre within the BC forest industry

Unharvested standing &mbers: 2.9 M odt

Logging residues:
5.4 M odt

Source: Roach and Berch, 2014; Industrial Forestry Service Ltd. et al., 2013; AEBIOM et al., 2013; FPInnova'ons, 2010; Bradburn, 2014;
PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2007

Logging residues availability in BC

1- Parksville (Vancouver Island)

Annual availability of
forest residues (Odt)
758,880

2- Aldergrove (Lower Mainland)

758,880

3- Castlegar (West Kootenay)

203,760

4- Canal Flats (East Kootenay)

162,000

5- 100 Mile House (Cariboo)

110,192

6- Hanceville (Cariboo)

402,892

7- Anahim Lake (Cariboo)

344,626

8- Quesnel (Quesnel)

236,104

9- Burns Lake (East Rupert)

164,473

10- Fort St. James (Prince George)

299,135

11- Mackenzie (Mackenzie)

297,442

12- Chetwynd (South Peace)

166,320

Loca&on (region)

Source: Industrial Forestry Service Ltd. et al., 2013;

FPInnova'ons, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014)

Wood pellet plants in BC

}There are currently 12 opera&ng
pellet plants in BC with the annual
produc&on capacity of 2.2 million
tons.

Prince Rupert

}Annual produc&on level of wood

pellets in BC is over 1.7 million
tonnes.
}Primary feedstocks for pellet
produc&on are mill residues
(1,185,500 Odt) and low-grade logs
(435,750 Odt).

Source: Canadian Biomass Magazine, 2015.

Upstream Logis&cs Network

Front End Loader/
Conveyor
Sawmill
residues
Road
Transportation

Logging
residues

Non-merchant
standing timbers

Pile

Roadside
Chip

Logging and
Loading

Road
Transportation

Roadside
Chip

Pellet
Plant

Road
Transportation

Rail/Road
transportation

Power
Plant

Poten&al loca&ons for wood pellet produc&on

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

High Level
Peace River
Slave Lake
Boyle
Grand Prairie
Edson

Poten'al loca'ons for wood pellet produc'on
Coal Power Plants in Wabamun area

Map Source: Government of Alberta, 2014.

Railway network in Western Canada

Source: Canadian Na'onal Railway, 2013

Rail transporta&on costs ($/tonne)

Origin

Des&na&on

High Level, AB
Peace River, AB
Slave Lake, AB
Boyle, AB
Grande Prairie, AB Wabamun, AB
Edson, AB
Prince George, BC
Quesnel, BC
William Lake, BC
Pers. comm. Robert Tarcon, April 2016 .

Transporta&on Distance
(km)

Transporta&on Cost
($/tonne)

879
565
325
204
602
137
715
840
956

33.89
23.39
15.37
11.34
24.63
9.08
28.40
32.60
36.47

Delivered costs at the gate of a power plant in Wabamun area

Cost component

Feedstock cost at the pellet plant

($/dry tonne)
Pellet price at the pellet plant ($/
tonne)

Sawmill
residues

Logging
residues

Non-merchant
standing
&mbers

30-35

60-80

75-150+

105-145

Pellet transporta&on-rail ($/tonne)

9-36.5

Delivered cost at the gate of power

plant ($/tonne)

130-170

Delivered cost-power plant ($/GJ)

7.07-9.25

Coring scenarios for coal-red power eet in Alberta

Technical and Cost Data
Plant Capacity (MW)

400.0

Heat Rate (GJ/MWh)

10.0

Capacity Factor (%)

90.0

Coal heat content (GJ/tonne)

20

Cost of coal ($/GJ)

1.3

Base CO2-eq intensity (tonne/MWh)

1.0

Wood pellet heat content (GJ/tonne)

18.0

CO2-eq reduc&on/coring ra&o (%)

0.9-1.0

Biomass Processing Data

Capital Cost ($/kW)
Fixed O&M Cost (% of capital cost)
Capital Recovery Factor
Derate Factor (%)
Opera&onal O&M and transmission ($/MWh)

500
2
0.11
3
20

}60% coring frac&on to reach

the GHG emission intensity of
a natural gas combined cycle
unit.
}100% wood pellet

Wood pellet consump&on rate- 400 MW Power Plant

Feedstock (million tonnes)

Coal Consump&on

1.72

NG combined cycle units

1.53

1.37

1.5

1.22

0.76

0.5

1.03

0.86
0.61

0.34
0.17
0.00

1
GHG Emission Intensity (tonne/
MWh)

Wood Pellet Consump&on

0
10

20
50
Coring frac&on (%)

60

100

0.91
0.81

0.8
0.6

0.52
0.42

0.4
0.2

0.07

0
0

10

20
50
Coring frac&on (%)

60

100

Feedstock Price Stability- NG vs. biomass

Alberta Gas Reference Price History ($/GJ): 2000-2016
12
10
8
6
4

Min: 1.58 $/GJ

Max: 11.38 $/GJ
Average: 4.61 $/GJ
S.D.: 2.06 $/GJ

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2006

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Source: Alberta Energy, 2016 & Bang et al, 2013.

Employment- Wood Pellet Logis&cs System

Wood Pellet Plant Congura&on
Produc&on Capacity (tonne/yr)

200,000

Number of employees

26

Pellet-to-feedstock ra&o

0.8

Feedstock composi&on
Supply radius (km)

70% logging residues and 30%

standing &mber
100-150

60% Coring
Required Wood Pellet (million tonne/year)
Number of wood pellet plants
Required feedstock (dry tonnes/year)

1.03
5
1,287,500

100% Coring
Required Wood Pellet (million tonne/year)
Number of wood pellet plants
Required feedstock (dry tonnes/year)

1.72
9
2,150,000

Employment- Wood Pellet Logis&cs System

Forest Opera&ons

Biomass Transporta&on

Pellet Plant

Number of employment

1200
1000

234

800
600
400
200

94

130
57
735
440

0
60% Coring

100% Coring

Avoided CO2 Costs

Capex

O&M

Fuel

Avoided CO2 Cost ($/tonne)

100
90
80
70

70.01

72.87

75.73

78.60

140

145

81.46

84.33

150

155

87.19

90.06

92.92

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
130

135

Pellet Price ($/tonne)

160

165

170

Selling Price of Power ($/MWh)- 60% Coring

Capex
Fixed O&M
Opera&onal O&M and transmission

Fuel

Selling Price of Power ($/MWh)

100
90
80

73.36

75.03

130

135

76.69

78.35

80.02

140

145

150

81.68

83.34

85.00

155

160

165

86.67

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Pellet Price ($/tonne)

170

Selling Price of Power ($/MWh)- 100% Coring

Capex

Fixed O&M

Opera&onal O&M and transmission

Fuel

Selling Price of Power ($/MWh)

140
120
100

101.45

104.25

107.06

130

135

140

109.87

112.67

115.48

150

155

118.28

121.09

123.89

160

165

170

80
60
40
20
0
145

Pellet Price ($/tonne)

Sensi&vity analysis- Capital Cost ($/KW)

Capital Cost ($/KW)

250

500

750

60% Coring
Avoided CO2 Cost ($/tonne)

77.30

81.46

85.80

Selling Price of Power ($/MWh)

77.60

80.02

82.53

100% Coring
Avoided CO2 cost ($/tonne)

77.30

81.46

85.80

Selling Price of Power ($/MWh)

108.59

112.67

116.92

*Pellet Cost at the gate of the power plant is assumed to be 150 $/tonne in this sensi&vity analysis.

Carbon Tax ($/MWh)

100% Coal

60% Coring

100% Coring

35.00
29.05

Carbon Tax ($/MWh)

30.00
25.00
19.37

20.00
15.00

14.52
12.17

10.00

8.11

6.08
5.00
0.00
15

0.57

0.38

0.28
20

Carbon Tax ($/tonne)

30

Other biomass sources in Alberta

Agricultural biomass
(wheat, oats and barley straw)

Railway &es

Wood waste at landlls

Dedicated biomass crops

(hybrid poplar and willow)

Summary
60% Coring

100% Coring

Poten&al availability of woody biomass in Alberta

(public and private forest lands)

~9 million dry tonnes

Poten&al availability of woody biomass in BC

~8 million dry tonnes

Required biomass to retrot a 400 MW power

facility
Poten&al number of retroqng coal-red power
plants

1.29
million dry tonnes

2.15
million dry tonnes

13

Poten&al number of pellet plants with a capacity of

200,000 tonnes/year

65-72

Poten&al number of employment

8,151-8,800

Pellet cost at the gate of the power plant (GJ/tonne)

7.07-9.25

Avoided CO2 Cost ($/tonne)

Selling price of power ($/MWh)

70-93
73-89

101-124

Acknowledgments
}Dave Butler, Canadian Clean Power Coali&on.
}Robert Tarcon, Premium Pellet Ltd.
}Toso Bozic, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.
}Dominik Roser & Charles Friesen and Marian Marinescu: FPInnova&ons.
}Brent Boyko and Les Marshall, OPG.
}Joerg Goetsch, Daishowa-Marubeni Interna&onal Ltd.
}Gordon Murray, WPAC.
}Vaughan Basse], Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group.
}Trevor Reid, Foothills Forest Products Inc.
}John Unger, La Crete Sawmills Ltd.
}Geo Clarke, Alberta-Pacic Forest Industries Inc.

Thank You for your attention

Q&A
Dr. Mahmood Ebadian, mahmood.ebadian@biomassupplychain.com
Ryan Jacobson, rjacobso@chbe.ubc.ca
Dr. Fahimeh Yazdanpanah, fyazdanpanah@chbe.ubc.ca
Dr. Shahab Sokhansanj, shahab.sokhansanj@ubc.ca