BIOMASS TERMOELECTRIC GENERATION PROJECT
Biomass Electric Generation
The Biomass electricity generation project, belonging to BIGUSE and Tahuamanu Companies, fulfils all the requirements demanded by the bidding.
It is a pilot project in Bolivia an in South America on using biomass to produce synthetic gas and then methane to generate electricity.
Tahuamanu has the biggest Brazilian Nuts processing plant located at Cobija, a city in the Bolivian Amazons region, rich in biomass resources, not only from the Brazilian nuts, but from the sawmills and from residues rejected in the forest. Tahuamanu itself, after working 15 years in its plant has stored more than 15 thousands tons of Brazilian nuts shells that could be used for fuelling the synthetic gas production. This plant, deployed as a first module could be easily emulated in other regions after its successful performance.
Currently, electric energy is generated by government subsidized diesel oil witch in turn is subsidized before delivered to the local grid.
The project would have a high positive impact on the environment, on the region’s economy as well as a social impact due to the creation of jobs for the biomass gatherers.
The first module of the project wouldn’t feasible if not supported by cooperation funding because of high equipment and technology costs and low and subsidized electric tariffs. That’s why Tahuamanu has looked for, and successfully found cooperation from PSOM, a Dutch governmental cooperation office witch will fund the project through a Dutch equipment supplier company. Tahuamanu created BIGUSE (Biomass Generation Unit of Sustainable Energy), a company that owns and manages the project as well as the final beneficiary of the Dutch cooperation funds.
Tahuamanu has been providing the initial funding for structuring the project locally and with the Dutch Agency, proving the syn gas technology, making the technical and financial studies and will make the local expenditures and civil constructions on behalf of BIGUSE.
These initial costs has been appraised on the amount of 350,000 to 400,000 US dollars.
Facts
1991
| Two years ago: | |
| Last year: | |
| This year (forecast): | 820,000 |
| Year 2 (forecast): | 820,000 |
| Year 3 (forecast): | 820,000 |
| Two years ago: | |
| Last year: | |
| This year (forecast): | |
| Year 2 (forecast): | |
| Year 3 (forecast): | 100,000 |
| Two years ago: | |
| Last year: | |
| This year (forecast): | 80 |
| Year 2 (forecast): | 80 |
| Year 3 (forecast): | 80 |
Finance needed
| Finance needed for fixed assets (buying of machines, buildings, ...) | 7,000,000 |
| Finance needed for working capital (salaries, stock, rental, leasing, transport, ...) | 8,000,000 |
| Total finance needed (US$) | 15,000,000 |
The Business
According to a diagnose prepared by the National Company of Electricity (ENDE), based on information provided by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the year l992, the coverage of the electrical service in Cobija reached 72 %, the year 2001, this coverage lowered to 69 %, which means, that the demand growth is greater than the growth of the service extension coverage.
On the other hand, the amount of electrical energy, sold therefore in Cobija, during the last 6 years, has grown at an annual rate of 17,6 %, with shows a vigorous growth.
The following table next shows the electrical growth rates by type of user during last the six years as well as the growth projections until year 2010 for the same users
Growth and Projection of Electrical Energy Demand in Cobija.
Users Category Annual Growth Projected Growth
1995 - 2001 2002 - 2005 Until 2010 Residential 13,8 % 19,8 % 9,1 % General 16,0 % 9,0 % 9,1 % Industrial 39,7 % 0,0 % 10,0 % Public Lighting 23,2 % 10,7 % 8,2 %
The numbers given in the previous table conform a conservative scenario of projected growth if it is taken into account that the annual growth average has been 17,6 % for the last six years. On this way, a projection of the total sales was made, based on total sales of 13.626,9 MWh for the year 2004, sales for the year 2010, should e more than 26.000 MWh.
Taking into account the technical losses corresponding to a distribution system like Cobija’s, has a level of 12,7 %, witch caused that the total electric generating demand for the year 2004 was 16.517,3 MWh, would end up with a total projected demand over 33,000 MWh the year 2010.
From the power point of view, ENDE has established that the Cobija’s system has registered a load factor of 54.2 % for the year a 2004 that would remain constant until year 2010. Based on the demand of 2,120 kw for the year 2001, witch raised to 3,276 kw. on 2004, it is expected to rise to 6,230 kw. the year 2010.
If it is taken into account that the present project will generate a power of 700 kw, it is reasonable to conclude that the Cobija’s market would need 4 projects like the one proposed to satisfy what the marked demanded the year 2004.
Tahuamanu has signed a MOU with ENDE, the local generator and owner of the unique local distribution grid, for buying-selling all the electricity generated by the proyect. ENDE has no means of generating electricidty from biomass beacuse doesnt have the skills nor the biomass.
Other companies that currently have biomass, coming from activities similar to those of Tahuamanu's and other such as saw mills are willing to sell their biomass to our project instead of going through investments risks like generating electricity.
The biomass generating project is a pilot project not only in Bolivia but in South America. There are no plants neither similar projects to generate syn gas from biomass and then generate electricity. In the past it has been a plant generating steam from burning biomass, but it was shut down due to its high operating costs
The Entrepreneur & Management
Tahuamanu has a technical staff of 6 engineers aswell as economists and technicians with whom runs its Brazilian nuts plant. With this people has innovated the whole nuts processing developing a new technology that is recognized as the most efficient in Bolivia.
Investigating new ways of running things is not unknown for our company and that was the reason to look into the utilization of biomass for producing energy.
All the equipment was designed by ourselves and a mayor part of it was built locally.
Good relationships have been created with Brazilian suppliers and work together frecuently when purchase orders are issued.
Financially, Tahuamanu is well known by the bankers as a serious company an has no problems for financing its working capital requirements.
As experienced company has looked for the best current technology on biomass electricity generation and has desgined a path to overcome the difficulties of pilot projects like the propossed.
Development
Tahuamanu will be able to produce electricity for its self consumption and will add value to the shells that at the current time are nothing but disposals.
The benefits that the project execution would bring can be based on measuring the saving that will mean in terms of reducing the amount of the subsidy on the oil diesel engine; on the environmental impact reducing the emissions of carbon by replacing the combustion of diesel engine by vegetal fuel that produces methane in addition of being itself a renewable resource and the social impact that will represent the availability of abundant energy and the increase of economic income for the chestnut hoarders obtaining additional remunerations by the delivery of the Brazilian nut’s Cocos in addition to the nut’s shells.
The availability of abundant and inexpensive energy under more advantageous conditions and greater coverage, would represent a high social impact on the surrounding project’s areas. The coconut gathering and storing, can be repaid under diverse modalities, fundamentally by means of interchanging coconuts by electric energy meaning an additional source of income for the local farmer population.
The availability of abundant and inexpensive energy under more advantageous conditions and greater coverage, would represent a high social impact on the surrounding project’s areas. The coconut gathering and storing, can be repaid under diverse modalities, fundamentally by means of interchanging coconuts by electric energy meaning an additional source of income for the local farmer population.