Australia – America Study Tour report

Based on the State Economic and Trading Commission’s (SETC) implementing project, CREIA organized a study tour to Australia and U.S. for the Bagasse cogeneration from August 10^th – 26^th, the report as below:

 1. Background

    Energy and Environmental issue are the major focus for world economic and technology. To lighten the effect of the fossil fuel, new and renewable energy development has been world widely expended, which is a alternative for fossil fuel and apply the sustainable development. For instance, the 15 members of EU have signed “Tokyo Protocol”, at the meanwhile proposed to adopt new energy technology, try to make the quotation of new energy resource reach 15% of the total. SETC has expended widely cooperation with some international organizations, foreign governments in the area of energy efficiency and new energy development and utilization. Based on the understanding of the advanced technology from other countries, rapid the understanding on the aspects of advanced technology and management development, transferring, and promote the renewable energy industrial development in China. To promote the renewable energy development in China, a project has been under taking by the China central government and UNDP, which is called Capacity Building for the Rapid Commercialization of Renewable Energy in China. The project was implemented since March 1999, Bagasse Co-generation technology application and relevant energy efficiency research are one of the major components of the project.

    Sugar Industrial is one of the major economy in south China, in year 1997/1998 the cultivation proportion of sugar cane is 1300,000 hectare, output is about 79,000,000 tones, which produced about 19,750,000 tones bagasse. According to the statistic of year 2000, the national output of sugar cane is 6,270,000 tones, two third of which is from Guangdong and Guangxi province, separately are 1,000,000 tones and 3,500,000 tones. Most of the sugar industrials are small in the scale, day output is below 25,000,000 tones, and some of the sugar industrials are planning to extend to larger scale on the base of original scale. The capacity of the boilers and steam generators are small, and the efficiency are low since the major purpose when the factory is founded is to supply the heat and electricity for the factory. Most of the boiler’s efficiency are lower than 70%, there’s waste of energy since the steam parameter relevantly low, steam wheels’ consumption relevantly high. To reduce the effect to the environment from bagasse and fossil fuel, improve the bagasse generation efficiency, the Project Management Office of Capacity Building for the Rapid Commercialization of Renewable Energy in China planed to have two bagasse cogeneration project in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces under the support of UNDP/GEF and has did the site visits to Guangdong and Guangxi in February 2001. Initiatory, selected Guangxi Guitang Co. Ltd as one of the demonstration project. Currently the equipment bidding and project design have been finished, plan to complete in April 2003.

2. The purpose for the study tour and the major contents

To have a better understanding of international best practice on initiative policy for Bagasse Cogeneration, technology and equipment manufacture capability, market mechanism and seeking for bilateral cooperation, which indicate the more effective implementation of the project, SETC has organized a study tour to Australia and United States. The group was composed by 8 persons, which includes: Li Jing, assistant inspector of SETC, Li Junfeng, general secretary of CREIA, He Weicai, the Senior engineer of Guangzhou light industry design institute, Li Xiaoyan, Guangdong ETC, You Zhiqiang, Guangxi ETC deputy director, Tian Ji’ning, Guangxi Energy efficiency director, Zhangying, manager of Guangxi Guitang Group Co. Ltd, and William L. Wallace, senior consultant from Project management office. (The name list of the study tour group is attached in Appendix)  

The major contents of the study tour includes: new south Wales and local sustainable energy development management bureau, the general situation in the state, the initiative policy for sustainable energy in the state, Federal compelling policy target on renewable energy and the state retail emission standards. The situation for promote “green power” in Australia, the potential CDM projects study; the renewable energy utilization technology in Australia Sugar industry and the balance challenge of fuel for Sugar companies in the State; the current statue of Bagasse Cogeneration in the state, the capital and financial approach, the grid connection for bagasse cogeneration; high efficiency of bagasse cogeneration, biomas fuel burning technology. Site visited five sugar industries: Broadwater, Condong in new south Wale in Australia, Rocky Point, Prosperine, Invicta in Kunsland, and Stapleton biomass generation power plant, Alstom Australia and New Zealand Company, BEST biomass technology research institution, Sugar Institution, in U.S. the companies were visited are: Hawaiian Sugar Industry, Honolulu garbage generation power plant, and EMET environmental protection service company. Had a better understanding on the current stage of renewable energy, policy initiation, new technology, extended renewable fuel concept, the existent problems in project implementation and capital approaches, mechanism of the relationship between Sugar industry and cane farmer, cogeneration, and grid connection relevant issues. Also the study tour has reached the knowledge of the cogeneration technology and equipment manufacture in U.S., environmental discharge standards for companies, relevant testing services.

Besides, the study tour group visited the Sustainable Energy Development Agency in Australia, and its implemented projects on energy efficiency and new energy utilization. The group was organized to visit SEDA’s solar roof facility, five star energy efficiency utilization office facility and participated the introduction section of relevant information.

    3. The brief of SEDA and the support policy of Australia and U.S.

Australia Federal Government has an active attitude on encourage and support the renewable energy development. One of the reason is the federal government has established a national target for renewable energy development in 1999, which indicate that till 2010 the electric that is generated from renewable energy should reach 25500 GWh, which is equal to 12% of the total generated electricity of the country. The electricity that is generated from renewable energy should increase 2%, which is already implemented in year 2000, all the power retail companies are applying this percentage includes the state and local companies. This target definitude the renewable energy which are qualified both on resource and technology aspects, including solar, wind, marine, ground thermal, hydro, biomass, agriculture byproducts, forest by products, wastewater, urban garbage, solar thermal system and renewable energy stand-along power supply system. The renewable energy green certification operation mechanism is introduced, for select renewable energy manufacture companies, the companies can get a credit for per MW power they generated. Certain proportion of the green power is required for fossil fuel power producers or sellers, if the proportion can not be reached, a fine will be proceed (40 Australian dollars per MWh). In the end of the year, the whole sellers and the retrials are required to provide enough green credits to prove that they’ve completed their task. Those credits, which haven’t been reached, shall be charged by the approach of fine, if the producer can complete the credits in prescriptive time schedule, the fine will be refund. A green credit will be given for per MWh power produced by renewable energy, green credit can be traded on the market; the current price for purchase one green credit is 35 Australian dollars per MWh. The other approach is promoting the customer agreement; customer can purchase green power according to the cost price. Some environmental companies and individuals come forward with higher price to support green power. The government policy and the customers’ action has widely active the producers, speed up the renewable energy development.

In 1978 U.S. Federal government has approved the PURPA, which encourages the utilities to buy the power from renewable energy, and initiate different incentive subsidies for grid price in order to active the producers’ and sellers’ interests on green energy. Some of the state even approved RPS as an approach for renewable energy promotion, which did has a obvious affect.

    SEDA is underling New south Wales government, founded in August, 1996. The tenet is to reduce the green house gas emission in New south Wales by the means of invest and promote the renewable energy technology and commercialization. SEDA has already been regarded as one of the renewable energy leaders in the world. The power that is generated by renewable energy in new south Wales is 9.1% of the Sum generated power, in which biomass has 0.5% quotation. Sustainable industrial is increasing at the pace of 20% per year. The working range for SEDA is focus on energy effective utilization, renewable energy promotion, including solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and urban garbage utilization. To promote the renewable energy development, SEDA has established relevant policy such as financial assistant, green credit certification, and green power certification mechanism. SEDA has certain amount of fund (12,000,000 Australian dollars was reduced in this year)focus on energy effective utilization, renewable energy utilization and industrial heat generation technology, seeking for the chance for financial assistant to renewable energy technology, support for commercialized or pre-commercialized industrials, help them improve their quotation in the market. SEDA already has effective efforts in the aspects of Green power certification, effective utilization of commercialized energy, household energy effective utilization, government energy efficiency, industrial heat generation, garbage energy utilization, architecture green house gas effects certification, energy efficiency education, energy efficiency installation, solar energy, solar PV, wind, biomass, renewable energy supply, and hydro.  During the six years since SEDA was founded 75,000,000 Australia dollars has been invested, abidance investment was 70 million Australian dollars, renewable energy industry increase at the pace of 20% per year. Currently renewable energy industrial is the one which developing in the most effective pace in New south Wales. The industrial offer 200million Australian dollars per year to the state.  SEDA also has founded a channel called Australian sustainable energy channel, which indicate to promote the capacity building for sustainable energy development mechanism, sustainable energy technology transfer, and cooperation the organizations in other countries.

4. Australia, U.S. bagasse cogeneration general overview

Australia has about 420 thousand hectare of cane fields, year output is 40,000,000 tones of cane. There are 30 sugar factories and 4 extractive sugar production factories all over Australia, output 5,700,000 sugar (penuche) per year, which is about more than half of the total year output of China. About 80% of the penuche will is exported. All the sugar factories participated in some cooperation, cane farmers and many of the sugar factories’ managers are stakeholders of these cooperation. Sugar cooperation is spontaneity and freewill organization, but it is very effective on coordinate with the cane cultivation, harvest, price and sugar industrials’ profit.

Australian Federal Government encourages and support the renewable energy which is applied on its policy, has mostly activate the positivity of the power producer. Most of the sugar industrial in Australia has implement the Cogeneration Heat and Power (CHP), some of the plants are operated independently and grid connected, and has long term contract with power suppliers; some of the plants had joint new company with power suppliers, reliable market and income are formulated. To extend the renewable sources for bagasse power plant, a research is going  on cane leaves, camphor and garden garbage to collect them as renewable fuel source, which can increase the investment return for those power plant.

The old units in Australian Sugar industrials’ plants mostly using low temperature and low pressure steam parameter, pressure 1.8 Mpa, temperature 370℃, efficiency of the boilers are mostly at 70%, vapour cost of steam wheels are above 12kg/kw (back pressure is 0.294Mpa), the efficiency of energy utilization is low. Currently one of the sugar industry has adopt high steam pressure parameter which is 7.5Mpa, temperature 510℃, part of the bagasse power plants are planning to switch to high steam parameter. Compare with the low temperature and low pressure steam, adoption of high steam generation can greatly lower the vapour cost and improve the generation efficiency.   

    1.Broadwater、Condong sugar industrial

New south Wales Sugar cooperation company has three sugar industrials, Broadwater、Condong、Harwood and one purify processing factory. The sugar industrials are under the mechanism of cooperation, cane farmers own the factories and has the right to vote. There are 450 employees in total in three sugar industrials, pressing period is 168 days/year. Machines are used for cane harvest. Broadwater is pressing 1100,000 tones per year, Condong is pressing 650,000 tones per year. Both of the industrials are adapting new energy efficiency approach, which can decrease the oil cost from 550kg/t to 450kg/t, and planning to adapt the high-pressure steam generation technology to improve the generation efficiency.

    Broadwater eliminated the low pressure low temperature 1.8Mpa, 300℃ steam parameter boiler and steam wheel generation units during the demonstration project in 1995. Instead of the old units they adapted a mid-temperature and mid-pressure 4.5Mpa, 450℃ steam parameter, 8MW steam wheel generation units, planning to establish high pressure 30MW generation units, steam pressure 7.0Mpa, temperature 510℃, out pressure 156t/h. Condong currently has 8 low pressure low temperature boiler and 3 steam wheel generation units, which will be eliminated in 2004, and establish a high pressure 30MW pump vapour cool steam wheel generation units, steam pressure 7.0Mpa, temperature 510℃. Both of the projects are joint work with Delta Power Company. To improve the renewable fuel supply, they are planning to utilize the cane leaves as burning fuel, which can increase 50% of the fuel source; additionally 30% of the renewable fuel can be taken from camphor. There’re two ways to separate cane leaves, one is to separate on cropper, the other is to separate centralize. Under the support of SEDA, the sample for these two kinds of cropper have been both under experimentation.

2.Rocky Point sugar factory

    Rocky Point sugar factory is pressing 4000t/d, established high pressure 30MW generation units, steam parameter 7.0Mpa, temperature 510℃, 90% of the burning fuel is bagasse, 10% is rice shell. During the processing of contribution, problems of finance and grid connection were met as well, but concerned by the local government, it end up with a joint power plant by Power Company and the sugar factory.

    3.Prosperine Sugar factory

     Prosperine Sugar factory is pressing 670t/h, year pressing 2,000,000 tones, current 4 boilers are low temperature and low pressure: 1.8Mpa、270℃. To improve the efficiency of the boiler, they adopted the technology which can reduce the water content in the bagasse, and technology of spin flow bagasse burning unit. These two technology improves 2% of the boiler’s efficiency.

    4.Invicta Sugar factory

Invicta Sugar factory is currently the largest sugar industrial in the是world, year output 500 thousand tones of sugar. The highest pressing record is in 1999, which is 3,200,000 tones. The factory has two production lines; heat power plant has 3 boilers and 3 steam wheel generation units. boiler1# steam pressure 1.8Mpa, flow 136t/h; boiler 2#, steam pressure 1.8Mpa, flow 150t/h; boiler1# steam pressure 4.3Mpa, flow320t/h. The cane farmers has contract with the industrial, which indicate the 2/3 of the profits from sugar production flows to the farmers, 1/3 to the industrial. Since the situation in Kunsland is different from New south Wales, the factory still using bagasse as the fuel for power plant, do not have any plan of utilize cane leaves.

    5.Hawaiian Sugar factory

    Sugar industry is a major industry in Hawaiian, it is one of the only industrials in Hawaiian, and the other one is garbage non-harmful process. Hawaiian sugar factory is located in Maui island Hawaiian sugar factory is pressing 8000t/d, year pressing 2,000,000 tones. Since the unique climate in Hawaiian, the harvest season is depend on sugar factory’s requirement, normally the pressing period is 10 and half month. The parameter that American sugar factory heat power plants are using is mid-temperature and mid-pressure from the very beginning: 3.0~6.0Mpa, 370℃. The factory currently has 3 boiler and 3 units of steam wheel generation, total capacity is 46 MW, in which 10 MW is spare wheel. The factory is planning to adopt the experiences from Australia, to utilize cane leaves as boiler burning fuel.

   5. Experience and suggestion

Via the study tour, we’ve had a basic understanding of the current stage of the CHP, development and the trend in Australia and America. Renewable energy as green power is supported by Australian and American Government, both has specific incentive policies, and relevant financial support. For instance, the organization such as SEDA, has been playing a role of promoting the renewable energy in Australia.

The development period for Australian bagasse CHP has some similar points with China, for instance, the steam parameter is low when the factory is established, the reason is to burn the bagasse and ensure the heat and electricity supply for the factory itself, basically do not provide electricity to outside the factory. But currently most of the factories are using mid-parameter: 4.3Mpa, 450℃; some has already using high parameter: 7.0Mpa, 510℃. The largest capacity for bagasse boiler in Australia is 320t/h ( the largest in China is 75t/h). (The largest bagasse boiler is not clear yet, because the bagasse boiler is not a series yet, there’s lack of materials) Sugar factory is on a high level of automatic, well efficiency. To improve the output of the green power generation and prolong the generation period, SEDA is supporting a demonstration programme for implement cane leave colleting as fuel, which increase the 50% of the fuel. By this means, more green power can be generated, fossil fuel using will be decrease, which can bring back profits. The currently implementing green power quota system can increase the price of green power about 100%. In Australia, the promotion of higher parameter bagasse generation is not going so smoothly, since some problems are met in the investment return and financial approach.

Most of the American Sugar factory are using mid-parameter when the factory is founded, currently U.S. is planning to use the experience of cane leaves utilization from Australia.

    Besides, both in Australia and U.S. the sugar factories have long term cooperation contract with cane farmers, generally the farmers are stockholders of the factory, long term cane purchase agreements are signed, which can ensure both of the benefits of the factory and farmers, solved the problem the reliable of cane supply.

During the study tour, Australia government, enterprises, schools, and research institutes all showed strong interests on cooperation of relevant technology communication, development and utilization on the concept of renewable energy development.

Suggestions:

    1. References the experience from Australia, study the policy for promote renewable energy in china under the market mechanism. Those policies which are approved effective in the practices in Australia and U.S. shall be used combine with the situation in China. For instance, feasibility study on implementation of green power certification mechanism and credits management, to solve the renewable energy grid connection difficulties and low price problems.

2. enhance the cooperation with SEDA, utilize the fund from Australia development aid, implement a demonstration project jointly in China, including establish a cooperation mechanism between cane farmer and sugar factory, cane harvest mechanization, separation of cane and cane leaves, improvement of dehydrate of bagasse, and utilization of high pressure steam generation, which can effectively increase the output of bagasse CHP, generation efficiency, increase of electricity output, increase of income for sugar factory, lower the cost for the factory, combine with the enterprises’ mechanism reform, capital reform, and management reform, establish the best sugar company group in China.

    3. Research on the potential of bagasse generation as green power, related to the major cane production area, the scale of bagasse generation, and the technology level. Study on how to make incentive policies to improve the utilization of renewable fuel such as bagasse which can decrease fossil fuel using, and improve the competition capability of our sugar factories.

4. Again, have more cooperation with SEDA, and related communication and coooperations. Besides the bagasse cogeneration, other sorts of the biomass, household garbage generation utilization can be options for energy efficiency, wastewater treatment.

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