When considering the broad range of experiences with cofiring biomass in coal fired power plants of various configurations worldwide, one can conclude that
- Cofiring has been demonstrated successfully in over 150 installations worldwide for most combinations of fuels and boiler types.
- Cofiring offers among the highest electrical conversion efficiencies of any biomass power option.
- Cofiring biomass residues in existing coal-fired boilers is among the lowest cost biomass power production options.
- Well-managed cofiring projects involve low technical risk
- In addition to mitigation of CO2 emission, cofiring biomass in existing coal-fired boilers usually also leads to reduced emissions of NOx, SO2 and other flue gas components.
It is therefore the opinion of IEA Bioenergy Task 32 that:
Cofiring biomass in existing coal-fired boilers provides an attractive approach to nearly every aspect of bioenergy project development.
