ABSTRACT
As the demand for fossil fuels continues to grow and the pressure for reductions in CO2 emissions increases, the need to find cost-effective alternative energy technologies is of paramount importance. The fossil-fueled power generation industry contributes significantly to CO2 emissions, not to mention conventional air emissions. The co-firing of biomass with coal, and biomass gasification for electric power generation, are two important alternatives to coal and fossil fuel plants. A study by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) served as a starting point for the case study research reported in this chapter (DeMeo et al. 1997). This report included an initial performance and cost analysis expressed in mid1990s dollars. This required extensive updating of cost information through the use of consumer price indexes and inflation (Table 10A.1), producer price indexes (numerous tables), interest rates, and tax rates for complete capital investment and electricity production cost calculations and analyses.
