Evaluation of Carbon Price and Cost Reduction by Technological Improvement of Woody Biomass Power Generation

Abstract

This paper quantitatively clarifies based on technical scenarios: (1) the relationship between technological improvement/innovation and the carbon price (CP) required for woody biomass power generation to achieve sustainable cost competitiveness, and (2) the required technological improvements and conditions to achieve sustainably competitive biomass power generation where a CP has been adopted.

At present, a CP of at least USD100/t-CO₂, which is the highest globally and at the level of the Nordic countries, is required to make woody biomass power generation cost-competitive. Yet were biomass fuel, which has the greatest impact on generation cost, to fall to 30% of the current price, and CO₂ generated by chemical looping combustion, a next-generation power generation technology, utilized, biomass power generation could achieve the target cost 27.3JPY/kWh including CO₂ capture cost and become cost-competitive without CP.