Biomass Gasification as a Viable Alternative for Small-scaled Combined Heat and Power Technologies in Remote Communities in Canada

The use of forest biomass could drastically reduce the environmental impacts of fossil fuel usage for heat and power in remote communities and can provide new opportunities for employment, retaining money inside communities. Here, we present the techno-economic feasibility of alternative gasification technologies for CHP uses in three remote off-grid communities in Canada. The analysis includes different scenarios of fuel price and operation costs, as well as two different feedstocks, wood pellets and wood chips. The results show potential for successful implementation, subject to planning on the specific conditions and location of the community. Power generation costs vary widely depending on the available biomass price, utilization of heat as well the power output of the system, ranging from about 0.25 CAD/kWh to over 1.20 CAD/kW. Economic support for biomass or removal of diesel subsidies would have a significant impact on biomass CHP implementations. The feasibility of the investigated systems is not dependent on the economics or technology itself but (i) availability of quality feedstock, (ii) utilization of heat for additional revenue generation, (iii) the utilization of the systems, (iv) community-driven bioeconomy alternatives and (v) carbon credit opportunities.