an official journal of: published by:
an official journal of: published by:
Editor in Chief: RAFFAELLO COSSU

ENERGY PRODUCTION FROM RESIDUES: ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF BIOGAS INSTALLATIONS - DEVELOPMENT OF A CALCULATION TOOL

  • Silvia Drescher-Hartung - Institute of Biotechnology and Environmental Engineering (IBU), Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, Germany
  • Žaneta Stasiškienė - Institute of Environmental Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
  • Thorsten Ahrens - Institute of Biotechnology and Environmental Engineering (IBU), Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Released under CC BY-NC-ND

Copyright: © Cisa Publisher


Abstract

The changing situation in Germany with the future limitation of funding by the EEG (Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz – Renewable Energies Act) (EEG 7/21/2014) has resulted in the situation whereby solutions for the operation of biogas plants lacking public funding need to be evaluated more precisely. The economics of biogas plants, powered exclusively by residues such as biowaste or municipal solid waste should be investigated with a focus on economic and business factors. The economic assessment approach applied here examines business opportunities for regional biogas operations in different European countries. A calculation tool was developed that shows the profitability of biogas plants and considers main and typical characteristics to provide a reliable basis for a future business case analysis. The main purpose of this tool is to estimate the profitability of future biogas installations at the project planning stage; consequently, application of this tool should minimize the economic risks for investors prior to undertaking the main investment. As biogas plant lifetime is typically assumed to be 20 years, the model allows the creation of profitability models over the same period of time.

Keywords


Editorial History

  • Received: 12 Jan 2018
  • Revised: 19 Mar 2018
  • Accepted: 23 Mar 2018
  • Available online: 31 Mar 2018

References

ABOWE project reports (2014) and (2013), available from www.abowe.euPublication bibliography

ABOWE (2016, 2017): project reports. Available online at www.abowe.eu, updated on August 2017.

Ahrens, Thorsten (2017): Feed-in tariffs. Wolfenbuettel, 2017.

Ahrens, Thorsten; Drescher-Hartung, Silvia; Anne, Olga (2016): Sustainability of future bioenergy production. In CISA Publisher (Ed.): Venice 2016 - Sixth International Symposium on Energy from Biomass and Waste. Proceedings.

Ahrens, Thorsten; Drescher-Hartung, Silvia; Anne, Olga (2017a): Sustainability of future bioenergy production. In Waste management (New York, N.Y.) 67, pp. 1–2. DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2017.07.046.

Ahrens, Thorsten; Drescher-Hartung, Silvia; Anne, Olga (2017b): Sustainability of the Biowaste Utilization for Energy Production. In Jaya Shankar Tumuluru (Ed.): Biomass Volume Estimation and Valorization for Energy: InTech.

ecoprog GmbH (2016): Biogas to Energy - Der Weltmarkt für Biogasanlagen. Available online at https://www.ecoprog.de/publikationen/energiewirtschaft/biogas-to-energy.htm, checked on August 2017.

EEG (7/21/2014): Gesetz für den Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien Gesetz für den Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz - EEG 2017). EEG 2017. Source: http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/eeg_2014/EEG_2017.pdf. Available online at http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/eeg_2014/EEG_2017.pdf.

FNR (2012): Guide to Biogas. Edited by Fachagentur für nachwachsende Rohstoffe. Available online at https://mediathek.fnr.de/media/downloadable/files/samples/g/u/guide_biogas_engl_2012.pdf, updated on August 2017.

FNR (2017): Gärsubstrate, Biogasausbeuten. Edited by Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. Available online at https://biogas.fnr.de/gewinnung/gaersubstrate, checked on February 2018.

Schacht, Ulrich; Fackler, Matthias (Eds.) (2009): Praxishandbuch Unternehmensbewertung. Grundlagen, Methoden, Fallbeispiele. 2. vollst. überarb. Aufl. Wiesbaden: Gabler.

Stadtwerke Wolfenbüttel, 2017. Allgemeine Preise. Available online at https://www.stadtwerke-wf.de/strom/allgemeine-preise.html.

European Commission (n.d.): Klima- und Energiepaket 2020. Available online at https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2020_de, accessed August 2017