process ble at $19 per ton until four years ago when the price increased to $29 per ton. However, Irving figures the McNeil station’s cost to produce electricity from wood is $50.45 for one megawatt hour (or 5 cents per kilowatt hour), which is still a bargain when compared Irving with other fuels. At current rates, the electrical cost would be $151 per megawatt hour from fuel oil and $98 from natural gas. McNeil’s generating load is determined by the New England power pool on a daily basis. The pool directs it to generate specific levels of power at specific times of the day based on the needs of the entire power pool.
Cofiring and Pyrolysis As it relies on experience, the biomass power industry continues to develop new technologies focused on efficient fuel utilization. Now that the first generation of direct combustion technologies have matured, cofiring and pyrolysis are two of the technologies that are being studied further. Switchgrass gets a lot a press as the future feedstock for cellulosic ethanol, however, in Ottumwa, Iowa, Alliant Energy Corp. is ready to go commercial cofiring switchgrass with coal to generate electricity. The Iowa project illustrates many of the lessons highlighted in the 2000 report. Nearly 15 years ago, the Chariton Valley Resource Conservation and Development group began investigating switchgrass as a potential new crop for area farmers. Alliant Energy partnered with the U.S. DOE to study the potential for cofiring switchgrass in its 725 megawatt coal-fired Ottumwa Generating Station. A test in 2000, burned 1,300 tons of switchgrass to gath30 BIOMASS MAGAZINE 8|2007