Bioenergy technologies for carbon abatement

In this paper, bioenergy technologies (BETs) are presented as potential carbon abatement opportunities substituting fossil fuel or traditional (less efficient) biomass energy systems. Cost of energy (produced or saved) of BETs is compared with fossil fuel and traditional biomass energy systems to estimate the incremental cost (IC). The IC of carbon abatement for each of the selected BETs (in $ kWh−1 or $ GJ−1) is estimated using the carbon emission (tC kWh−1 or tC GJ−1) reduction obtained by substituting fossil fuel and traditional biomass alternatives. The abatement costs are estimated and compared for ten combinations of BETs (with seven technology alternatives) substituting conventional technologies. The analysis indicates that out of the ten project cases six have negative ICs in the range of −37 to −688 $ tC−1 and four have positive ICs in the range of 52–162 $ tC−1 mitigation. The negative ICs indicate that the suggested alternatives are cheaper than the original technologies. Thus, results indicate that the chosen BETs are cost-effective mitigation opportunities and are currently aggressive candidates under Clean Development Mechanism.