Biogas upgrading to biomethane as a local source of renewable energy to power light marine transport: Profitability analysis for the county of Cornwall
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2022

In this work, the use of biomethane produced from local biogas plants is proposed as renewable fuel for light marine transport. A profitability analysis is performed for three real biogas production plants located in Cornwall (United Kingdom), considering a total of 66 different scenarios where critical parameters such as distance from production point to gas grid, subsidies, etcetera, were evaluated. Even though the idea is promising to decarbonize the marine transport sector, under the current conditions, the approach is not profitable. The results show that profitability depends on the size of the biogas plant. The largest biogas plant studied can be profitable if feed-in tariffs subsidies between 36.6 and 45.7 €/MWh are reached, while for the smallest plant, subsidies should range between 65 and 82.7 €/MWh. The tax to be paid per ton of CO2 emitted by the shipping owner, was also examined given its impact in this green route profitability. Values seven times greater than current taxes are needed to reach profitability, revealing the lack of competitiveness of renewable fuels vs traditional fuels in this application. Subsidies to make up a percentage of the investment are also proposed, revealing that even at 100% of investment subsidized, this green approach is still not profitable. The results highlight the need for further ambitious political actions in the pursuit of sustainable societies.

Biomethane production

CO2 utilization

Green energy production

Renewable fuels

Biogas upgrading

Waste valorization

Författare

Judith González-Arias

Universidad de Leon

Francisco Baena-Moreno

Universidad de Sevilla

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Energiteknik

Laura Pastor-Pérez

University of Surrey

Daniel Sebastia-Saez

University of Surrey

Luz M. Gallego Fernández

Universidad de Sevilla

T. R. Reina

University of Surrey

Waste Management

0956-053X (ISSN) 1879-2456 (eISSN)

Vol. 137 81-88

Ämneskategorier

Förnyelsebar bioenergi

Bioenergi

Energisystem

DOI

10.1016/j.wasman.2021.10.037

PubMed

34749180

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2021-11-17