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Title: Feasibility analysis for biomass cogeneration at the Fort Apache Timber Company

Conference ·
OSTI ID:478663
;  [1];  [2]
  1. NEOS Corp., Lakewood, CO (United States)
  2. Barlow Group, Fort Collins, CO (United States); and others

The Fort Apache Timber Company (FATCO) is a wholly-owned tribal enterprise of the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT). WMAT officials are concerned about fuel buildup on the forest floor and the potential for catastrophic forests fires. Cogeneration is viewed as one means to effectively utilize biomass from the forest to reduce the chance of forest fires. FATCO presently spends approximately $1.6 million per year for electricity service from Navopache Electric Cooperative, Inc. for three sites. Peak demand is approximately 3.9 MW and the annual load factor is slightly under 50 percent. The blended cost of electricity is approximately $0.089 / kWh at the main mill. Biomass resources for fuel purposes may be obtained both from mill operations and from the forest operations. For many years FATCO has burned its wood residues to supply steam for dry kilns. It is estimated that a total of 125,778 bone dry tons (bdt) per year are available for fuel. A twenty year economic analysis model was used to evaluate the cogeneration potential. The model performs annual cash flow calculations to arrive at three measures of economic vitality: (1) Net Present Value (NPV), (2) levelized cost per kWh, and (3) Year 2 Return on Investment (ROI). Results of the analysis are positive for several scenarios.

OSTI ID:
478663
Report Number(s):
CONF-960958-; TRN: 97:002640-0054
Resource Relation:
Conference: Partnerships to develop and apply biomass technologies, Nashville, TN (United States), 15-19 Sep 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of Bioenergy `96: Partnerships to develop and apply biomass technologies. Volume I and II; PB: 1171 p.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English