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
- Available online in Detritus - Volume 1 / March 2018
- Pages 64-68
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
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