Technoeconomic analysis of a methanol plant based on gasification of biomass and electrolysis of water

International audienceMethanol production process configurations based on renewable energy sources have been designed. The processes were analyzed in the thermodynamic process simulation tool DNA. The syngas used for the catalytic methanol production was produced by gasification of biomass, electrolysis of water, CO from post-combustion capture and autothermal reforming of natural gas or biogas. Underground gas storage of hydrogen and oxygen was used in connection with the electrolysis to enable the electrolyser to follow the variations in the power produced by renewables. Six plant configurations, each with a different syngas production method, were compared. The plants achieve methanol exergy efficiencies of 59-72%, the best from a configuration incorporating autothermal reforming of biogas and electrolysis of water for syngas production. The different processes in the plants are highly heat integrated, and the low-temperature waste heat is used for district heat production. This results in high total energy efficiencies (~90%) for the plants. The specific methanol costs for the six plants are in the range 11.8-25.3 €/GJ. The lowest cost is obtained by a plant using electrolysis of water, gasification of biomass and autothermal reforming of natural gas for syngas production

Linking meters and markets: Roles and incentives to support a flexible demand side

Present trends in the development of electricity systems are expected to generate a growing need for flexibility in decentralised resources, including demand response. In order to enable decentralised actors to create value, the organisation of markets and incentives should incorporate these new participants. The roll-out of smart metering to electricity consumers is an important precondition to establishing a flexible demand side and will provide essential information flows. On the basis of current incentive structures and related risks, however, the pass-through of information and value from wholesale market participants to the demand side is mostly infeasible, resulting in flexibility tasks being aggregated and delegated to balancing responsible wholesale traders. This analysis focuses on whether current incentives and roles are appropriate and where the design could be improved to establish a flexible demand side with a particular focus on the Danish case. Design-related barriers are identified that affect expected value, associated risks, and the distribution of responsibilities. This serves as a basis to define policy options in the context of Nordic electricity markets. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Applicability of the “Frame of Reference” approach for environmental monitoring of offshore renewable energy projects

This paper assesses the applicability of the Frame of Reference (FoR) approach for the environmental monitoring of large-scale offshore Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) projects. The focus is on projects harvesting energy from winds, waves and currents. Environmental concerns induced by MRE projects are reported based on a classification scheme identifying stressors, receptors, effects and impacts. Although the potential effects of stressors on most receptors are identified, there are large knowledge gaps regarding the corresponding (positive and negative) impacts. In that context, the development of offshore MRE requires the implementation of fit-for-purpose monitoring activities aimed at environmental protection and knowledge development. Taking European legislation as an example, it is suggested to adopt standardized monitoring protocols for the enhanced usage and utility of environmental indicators. Towards this objective, the use of the FoR approach is advocated since it provides guidance for the definition and use of coherent set of environmental state indicators. After a description of this framework, various examples of applications are provided considering a virtual MRE project located in European waters. Finally, some conclusions and recommendations are provided for the successful implementation of the FoR approach and for future studies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio