Economic feasibility of using biodiesel for electricity generation in a dairy agro industry located in the state of Paraná, Brazil

The electricity supply to agricultural industries located in rural areas is a challenge for Brazil due to its huge territory. The objective of this study is to assess the economic viability of using biodiesel to generate electricity to be used in a dairy agribusiness, located in Parana state, Brazil, replacing to the electric power supplied by the Rural Distribution Network (RDR) from the local dealership. Two scenarios were studied: the first considered replacing the power from the RDR by generation through biodiesel throughout the day, and the second considered replacing the power from the RDR by biodiesel generation only in peak periods, when the energy cost is much higher. As a result, it was found that the first setting is not economically feasible, and the second scenario provides a cost saving of approximately 18.66%.