Biomass Organic Rankine Cycle
Biomass ORC uses a fairly standard biomass boiler to heat a thermal oil, and is therefore cheaper than steam generating. It uses a similar process to a refrigeration cycle, causing the thermal oil to boil and turn into a gas to drive a turbine, which creates power, then when the gas cools it turns back into a liquid again to be re-heated. Once the process has used the heat it needs to generate power, the water then is circulated around your heating system and back to the boiler.
Biomass ORC benefits:
- Lower capital cost makes payback quicker
- Low maintenance requirement makes for cheaper running costs
- Fewer moving parts and lower pressures in the biomass system makes for good reliability
Our ORC manufacturing partner is Enogia in combination with the Gilles industrial boiler range, which can run on very low grade fuel to give you the lowest running costs, combined with the best returns.
Quick return on investment due to Renewable Heat Incentive payments on the biomass heat produced, as well as another RHI payment on CHP (Combined Heat and Power)
| BIOMASS and ORC RHI CHP Incomes | ||||
| Biomass only | Biomass with ORC | |||
| RHI | RHI CHP with 40°C water | RHI CHP with 45°C water | RHI CHP with 50°C water | |
| Eligible thermal power [kWth] | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 |
| Running hours | 6500 | 6500 | 6500 | 6500 |
| ORC net efficiency | 0.0% | 5.7% | 5.2% | 4.7% |
| Relative efficiency (compared to 20%) | 0.0% | 28.5% | 26.0% | 23.5% |
| Tier 1 Incomes (3.05 p/kWh) | £93,513 | £66,862 | £69,200 | £71,537 |
| Tier 2 Incomes (2.14p/kWh) | £110,980 | £79,351 | £82,125 | £84,900 |
| CHP efficiency incomes (4.42p/kWh) | £0 | £81,881 | £74,698 | £67,516 |
| Total Incomes RHI CHP | £204,493 | £228,093 | £226,023 | £223,953 |
These are annual payments, which will be paid for twenty years: £228,093 x 20 = £4,561,860 and that’s not all. Because you are generating your own electricity, you get to keep it at a cost of around 6p per Kilowatt, saving on average 8p per Kilowatt on what your electricity currently costs you to buy from the grid. You also get hot water to heat a building or a swimming pool, or an industrial process.
The Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) scheme has now ended and is only available to those who have signed up previously.
For further information, please contact Commercial Biomass Ltd on 01935 476927