5.00

Trillion Btu

2,335

1,501

2,034

1,230

7,100

Million Dry Tons

   136

     87

   118

     72

   413

Million Wet Tons

   194

   124

   169

   103

   590

Equivalent Capacity (Gigawatts)^a

     32

     21

     28

     17

     98

2.50

Trillion Btu

1,147

   254

     34

   493

1,928

Million Dry Tons

     67

     15

       2

     29

   113

Million Wet Tons

     96

     21

       3

     41

   161

Equivalent Capacity (Gigawatts)^a

     16

       3

       0

       7

     26

1.25

Trillion Btu

       0

       0

       0

   234

   234

Million Dry Tons

       0

       0

       0

     14

     14

Million Wet Tons

       0

       0

       0

     20

     20

Equivalent Capacity (Gigawatts)^a

       0

       0

       0

       3

       3

^aAssuming biomass integrated gasification combined-cycle (BIGCC) technology. This is a hypothetical calculation based on the assumptions below and is not related to the capacity numbers reported in NEMS.

      To convert from Btu to equivalent capacity:
       · Assume efficiency of power plant = 33%, or plant heat rate = 3,413 Btu/kWh/0.33 = 10,342 Btu/kWh;
       · Assume capacity factor of plant = 80%, or hours of operation = 8,760 ´ 0.8 = 7,008 hours/year.
       For a resource estimate of 7,100 trillion Btu, equivalent capacity can be calculated as:
         7,100 ´ 10¹² Btu ´ 1 kWh/10,342 Btu ´ 1/7,008 hr ´ 1 MW/1,000 kW ´ 1 GW/1,000 MW = 98 GW.
       For a resource estimate of 1,928 trillion Btu, equivalent capacity can be calculated as:
         1,928 x 10¹² Btu ´ 1 kWh/10,342 Btu ´ 1/7,008 hr ´ 1 MW/1,000 kW ´ 1 GW/1,000 MW = 26 GW.
       For a resource estimate of 234 trillion Btu, equivalent capacity can be calculated as:
         234 ´ 10¹² Btu ´ 1 kWh/10,342 Btu ´ 1/7,008 hr ´ 1 MW/1,000 kW ´ 1 GW/1,000 MW = 3 GW.

      To convert from Btu to million dry tons:
       · Assume energy content of biomass = 8,600 Btu/lb (dry).
       For a resource estimate of 7,100 trillion Btu, biomass quantity can be calculated as:
         7,100 ´ 10¹² Btu ´ 1 lb (dry)/8,600 Btu ´ 1 ton (dry)/2,000 lb ´ 1 million dry ton/10⁶ dry tons = 413 million dry tons.
       For a resource estimate of 1,928 trillion Btu, biomass quantity can be calculated as:
         1,928 ´ 10¹² Btu ´ 1 lb (dry)/8,600 Btu ´ 1 ton (dry)/2,000 lb ´ 1 million dry ton/10⁶ dry tons = 113 million dry tons.
       For a resource estimate of 234 trillion Btu, biomass quantity can be calculated as:
         234 ´ 10¹² Btu ´ 1 lb (dry)/8,600 Btu ´ 1 ton (dry)/2,000 lb ´ 1 million dry ton/10⁶ dry tons = 14 million dry tons.

      To convert from million dry tons to million wet tons:
       · Assume moisture content of biomass = 30 percent.
       For a resource estimate of 413 million dry tons, biomass quantity in wet tons can be calculated as:
         413 million dry tons ´ 1 wet ton/0.7 dry ton = 590 million wet tons.
       For a resource estimate of 113 million dry tons, biomass quantity in wet tons can be calculated as:
         113 million dry tons ´ 1 wet ton/0.7 dry ton = 161 million wet tons.
       For a resource estimate of 14 million dry tons, biomass quantity in wet tons can be calculated as:
         14 million dry tons ´ 1 wet ton/0.7 million dry ton = 20 million wet tons.

Source: Personal communication with Marie Walsh, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Kevin Comer, Antares Group, Inc.