Logistics cost analysis of rice straw for biomass power generation in Thailand

The logistics of the fuel supply have a large impact on the economy of a biomass power generation facility, especially for low density biomass fuels like straw. A detailed cost analysis of a typical rice straw logistics process for two baling options in three regions of Thailand shows that the costs for all logistics operations vary from a minimum of 18.75USD/t for small rectangular bales in the Northern region of Thailand to maximum 19.89USD/t for large rectangular bales in the North-eastern region. The difference in costs is not very significant due to the higher ownership and operating costs of the equipment for using large rectangular bales; however, the specific fuel consumption cost is substantially lower by around 17.5% and a total transport cost reduction is about 31.5%. Analysis of the logistics economies of scale for projected power plant capacities of 2–35MWe showed that each doubling the capacity of the energy facility increases the specific costs of the logistics operations only by around 4% in all regions.

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