Techno-economic study of biomass co-firing with and without CO2 capture in an Australian black coal-fired power plant

Coal-tired plants contribute more than 30 % of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce the emissions, co-firing biomass with coal has been proposed as a near-term option. If CO2 capture is also implemented at the same power plant, negative emissions may result. This study investigates the effect of co-firing biomass with coal at a typical 500 MW Australian black coal-fired plant with and without post-combustion capture. The study shows how incentives such as a carbon price and renewable energy certificates have the potential to make co-firing a cost effective option for reducing CO2 emissions in Australia. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.