Reference: IRENA (2019), Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018, International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi.
Bioenergy, where low-cost feedstocks are available as by-products from agricultural or forestry processes, can provide competitive electricity. In 2018, when around 5.7 GW of new bioenergy electricity generation capacity was added worldwide, the global weighted-average LCOE of new bioenergy power plants commissioned was USD 0.062/kWh – 14% lower than in 2017.
Global weighted average total installed costs, capacity factors and LCOE for bioenergy, 2010–2018
Bioenergy electricity generation options span a wide range of feedstocks and technologies.
The global weighted-average total installed costs of bioenergy projects fell to around USD 2100/kW in 2018, down form around USD 2850/kW in 2017.
Outside of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the combustion of sugar cane bagasse, wood waste and other vegetal or agricultural wastes uses proven, low-cost technologies. By country or region, these have weighted-average total installed costs that range between USD 950/kW and USD 1650/kW. The costs for these technologies is typically higher in Europe and North America.
Total installed cost of bioenergy-fired power generation projects by selected feedstocks and country/region, 2000–2018. Differences in total installed costs for bioenergy are more significant between countries than feedstock types. Total installed costs vary significantly within countries or regions depending on the technology employed. Bioenergy projects using bagasse and rice husks as feedstocks tend to have lower installed costs than those using landfill gas, wood waste, other vegetal and agricultural waste and renewable municipal waste.
Economies of scale are evident in China and India, where large numbers of plants have been deployed. Bioenergy electricity generation plants are small compared to fossil fuel plants, though, as the logistical costs of transporting feedstock from far afield often make plants much larger than 50 MW economically unattractive.
Total installed cost of bioenergy-fired power generation projects for different capacity ranges by country/region, 2000–2018. Economies of scale are visible for total installed costs in China, India and the rest of the world, but less evident in Europe and North America.
Total installed cost of bioenergy-fired power generation projects for different capacity ranges by selected feedstock and country/region, 2000–2018. Economies of scale are evident across feedstocks for bioenergy power projects in China and India, but less evident elsewhere, given the smaller data samples available.
Project capacity factors and weighted averages of bioenergy-fired power generation projects by feedstock and country/region, 2000–2018. Country and regional weighted-average capacity factors range from 63% in China to 83% in North America. Capacity factors tend to be higher for larger projects.
Project capacity factors and weighted averages of selected feedstocks for bioenergy fired power generation projects by country and region, 2000–2018. Capacity factors for individual projects typically span the 25 – 90% range, with weighted averages by technology and region ranging from 39% to 93%. Capacity factors for bagasse are lower than for other feedstocks, reflecting the seasonal availability of feedstock supplies.
LCOE by project and weighted averages of bioenergy-fired power generation projects by feedstock and country/region, 2000–2018. China and India have the lowest average LCOEs at around USD 0.06/kWh. LCOEs are higher in Europe and North America, at around USD 0.08/kWh and USD 0.09/kWh, respectively, due to higher shares of plants combusting renewable municipal waste. Ranges are wide across all regions, reflecting the diversity of installed costs, feedstock availability and technologies employed.
LCOE and capacity factor by project and weighted averages of selected feedstock for bioenergy-fired power generation projects by country/region, 2000–2018. Bagasse plant LCOEs typically fall between USD 0.03/kWh and USD 0.08/kWh, with capacity factors ranging from 40% to 90%. LCOEs for landfill gas projects have lower LCOEs at higher capacity factors, while some larger projects utilising “other vegetal and agricultural waste” (with higher feedstock costs) tend to have higher LCOEs. Bioenergy projects using rice husks as feedstocks tend to have LCOEs between USD 0.03 and USD 0.07/kWh, for capacity factors between 50% and 90%.
Fixed operations and maintenance (O&M) costs for bioenergy power plants typically range from 2% to 6% of total installed costs per year, while variable O&M costs are typically relatively low, at around USD 0.005/ KWh. Fixed O&M costs include labour, scheduled maintenance, routine component/ equipment replacement (for boilers, gasifiers, feedstock handling equipment, etc.), insurance, etc. The fixed O&M costs of larger plants are lower per kW due to economies of scale, especially for labour. Variable O&M costs are determined by the output of the system and are usually expressed as USD/ kWh. Non-biomass fuel costs, such as ash disposal, unplanned maintenance, equipment replacement and incremental serving costs are the main components of variable O&M costs. Unfortunately, the available data often merges fixed and variable O&M costs into one number, thus rendering impossible a breakdown between fixed and variable O&M costs.
Fixed and variable O&M costs for bioenergy power
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