Title:
Economic Assessment of Forest Chips Versus Heating Oil in Domestic Boilers in the Mediterranean Region
Author(s):
Esteban, B., Baquero, G., Riba, J.-R., Puig, R., Rius, A.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
The current dependence on fossil fuels in most domestic and industrial sectors is not sustainable in short or long term. Thus, energy efficiency alternatives together with the use of renewable energy resources are promoted in most countries. The use of locally extracted forest chips for domestic heating purposes in the Mediterranean region has many environmental and social benefits. Its use is currently low because of the high cost of extracting biomass from such forests due to their topography and their low productivity. It should be also taken into account the cost of the boiler and its installation. Unfortunately, many studies related to the use of biofuels just focus on the price of the fuel, neglecting the installation cost. The aim of this work is to perform a comparative economic evaluation of using forest chips, pellets and heating oil in boilers of equivalent capacities, focusing on the difficulty of extracting the wood from a Mediterranean forest area. This work aims to calculate the economic investment and consumption of these three fuels, the required installations and their use.
Keywords:
forestry, pellet, wood chips, oil, local
Topic:
Biomass Policies, Markets and Sustainability
Subtopic:
Investments and financing of bioenergy projects
Event:
20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
5AV.2.17
Pages:
2344 - 2346
ISBN:
978-88-89407-54-7
Paper DOI:
10.5071/20thEUBCE2012-5AV.2.17
Price:
FREE
