Abstract
Biogas power plants are a renewable
power source, which is not intermittent, if deployed properly in concert with
appropriately sized storage tanks. Therefore, biogas power plants have the
ability to firm intermittent renewable power sources (wind farms, solar arrays)
without the need for fossil fuel backup generation or large-scale battery storage
solutions. These renewable power plants can convert organic waste into
electricity, heat, and high-quality organic fertilizer. This organic waste can be of a wide variety,
such as food scraps, food preparation waste, discarded produce, cooking oil,
grease, restaurant waste, and even animal excrements. Alternatively, the
feedstock for biogas power plants can also be dedicated energy crops, most
frequently maize/corn, but also other cereals, sweet sorghum, grasses, and any
other energy crop with a high yield. The
efficiency of harvesting solar radiation energy through growing energy crops
and converting them into energy for transportation is up to a factor of 3.8 higher
than converting the same energy crops to transportation fuel via the bioethanol
distillation process.