Feasibility study of Biomass power plant fired with maize and sorghum stalk in the Sub-Saharan region: the case of the northern part of Cameroon

Abstract

This feasibility study essentially consists in the evaluation of the energy potential of the crop residues biomass in the northern province of Cameroon for the electricity production instead of the use of thermal power station using fossil resources. The site assessment, transformation process and conversion of agricultural biomass are presented in the structural methodology based on Payback period, Levelized Cost Of Electricity (LCOE), Internal rate return and electricity generation technology respectively. In addition, during this study, an investigation of potential sites in the regions identified was conducted to determine the factors that have a direct impact on the quality of electricity production for local populations. This analysis contributes to solving problems that may affect the development of industrial activities, the optimization of production and marketing of food products. This work focused on municipalities in the cities of Faro, Mayo-Rey and Benue, which are respectively Poli, Bouki, Tcholleré, Toroua, Amdoumré and Tcheboa. During this study, the total investment cost was estimated at 874.5 million US dollars for a 270MW capacity installation distributed in the above-mentioned municipalities. The levelized cost of electricity in the municipalities ranges from 6.81₵/kWh to 12.9₵/kWh. The work carried out has shown that the application of the bonus Carbon (51.6$/MWh) on the Biomass power plant would allow the realization of the projects on the indicated sites. While the absence of this carbon bonus will have a negative impact on the electricity generation capacity in the municipalities of Bouki and Tcholleré by causing a loss of 72.778GWh/year and 137.331GWh / year respectively. At the same time, it is important to note that, the sites with the greatest potential in terms of investment are in the communes of Bouki and Tcholleré for a payback period around 6 years and LCOE close to 6.81₵/kWh and 6.98₵/kWh using sorghum respectively. An extensive study suggests not mixing crop residues in these communes. The municipalities of the city Benue revealed an estimated production potential of 636.6GWh, for a LCOE value between 7.66₵/kWh and 8.20₵/kWh and a payback period less than 6.5 years.