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BIOMASS ENERGY: PROJECT DETAILS

Project Statement

The SABRE-Gen Biopower component is aimed at the evaluation and assessment of Biopower technologies, for their implementation in South Africa.

Compared to the wind and solar thermal projects, the biopower project is still in its infancy stages. The current objective is to complete the pre-feasibility study.

The pre-feasibility is broken down into three sections:

• A high level technology assessment
• A resource assessment, and
• Technology identification

The high level assessment evaluate a broad range of commercial and emerging biopower technology options considering the technical, economical, environmental and social aspects.

The resource assessment evaluate the natural resources (wood, bagase, agricultural crops, waste) available in South Africa. The study will also address the potential of growing fast growing crops for use in biopower plants.

The technology identification assesses the available technologies in conjunction with the available resources. The object being to identify the most appropriate biopower technology or technologies for South Africa. The technologies will be assessed on regional bases because of the diversity of the resources. In the evaluation, the technical and economic considerations would take preference.

Schedule/Progress

The pre-feasibility will be completed by November 2001. An in-depth feasibility study will then be conducted on the most appropriate technologies. If the results from the feasibility study are favourable, the project will proceed to the demonstration phase.