HM3 Energy, Inc.
Electric Generation
The switch from coal to second generation (torrefied) biomass and other energy sources
Coal-fired power plants provide almost 50% of the electricity in the U.S. While many utilities are augmenting their sources for power with solar and wind generation, they have significant capital invested in coal-fired power plants. Over the years coal has been an affordable, reliable fuel source ready to produce electric power 24-7.
However, utilities with coal-fired power plants see changes in the near future. Renewable Portfolio Standards and carbon taxation have changed the long-term cost calculations. In 2008 coal-fired power plants emitted 2.55 Billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), making them a primary target for pending cap and trade and/or carbon taxation. Besides emitting CO2, coal-fired power plants also produce other harmful emissions to the environment, such as sulfur dioxides, nitrogen oxides, and mercury, resulting in increasing pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean their emissions.
There are 460 coal-fired power plants in the US burning 1.0 billion tons of coal and discharging 41% of man-made CO2. Whether these plants plan to spend money on emission control, carbon capture, or both, they face significant costs for implementation. If they don’t do anything, they face significant taxation on their carbon emissions, or fines for polluting—perhaps even shutdown.
As utilities look to replace coal-fired plants in the future, they must review all their options, including new construction costs for alternative energy generation, such as solar, wind, nuclear, biomass, torrefied biomass or geothermal, and the amount of baseload capacity in their portfolio. Wind and solar, for example, cannot fully replace coal as energy sources for electric generation, as their energy streams are variable. Nuclear reactors are very expensive to build and pose safety concerns with operation and storage of waste materials.
We believe directly replacing coal in existing coal-fired power plants with TorrB™ torrefied biomass is one practical solution, because torrefied biomass provides renewable energy, and because cost comparisons show it will cost less to use TorrB™ torrefied biomass than to retrofit existing coal-fired power plants with controls and scrubbers. Replacing coal with properly torrefied biomass such as TorrB™ biomass pellets in existing plants reduces capital investment and makes use of existing infrastructure.
But first it is important to see how torrified biomass differs from other forms of biomass energy.
For news regarding the challenges facing coal-fired power plants, visit our News Page.
NEWS
NOV 2011: HM3 Energy Northwest Cleantech Open regional finalist, competes in national competition in San Jose. READ MORE
AUGUST 2011: HM3 Energy featured in Biomass Power & Thermal magazine. READ MORE
JUNE 2011: HM3 Energy awarded SBIR-USDA Phase 2 grant, worth $460,000. READ MORE
HM3 Energy receives US Endowment for Forestry and Communities grant, worth $241,000. The award will be used for pilot plant operation and key commercial scale equipment design and fabrication... READ MORE
Successful test burn completed with 100% torrefied biomass in pulverized coal-fired combustion facility proves torrefied biomass can replace coal directly in coal-fired power plants... READ MORE
Torrefied biomass energy can come from a variety of feedstock sources.... READ MORE
Torrefied biomass energy costs compare very favorably with other clean energy forms, such as solar and wind...READ MORE