Conclusion
The 150-killowatt Powertainer demonstrated how a containerized and portable gasification system could address the tree mortality crisis by converting forestry waste into clean, renewable energy, and sequestering carbon by producing biochar. Despite experiencing both technical and regulatory challenges, this project sets the groundwork for future studies and development using the Powertainer. This technology continues to represent an attractive option that supports California’s goals related to clean energy, climate change, and air quality. Because this technology addresses many benefits to California, it is critical to continue developing the Powertainer until it becomes a viable technology and energy option that can be deployed across California, especially areas affected by the tree mortality crisis.
Recommendations
In the midst of the changing climate and the effects already experienced across the state, it is critical that policy makers recognize the importance and unique benefits of biomass energy and promote the biomass market. In particular, innovative use of thinned material and other biomass harvested to reduce the risk of wildfire, to support forest-dependent economies, and ongoing forest management activities. One strategy is to encourage the siting of wood products manufacturing facilities and small-scale biomass energy near each other, to create regional economic hubs. Such hubs would become ideal locations for the Powertainer to use biomass waste to create electricity and biochar.
To be successful, the state needs to address the regulatory challenges inherit in pilot testing. The team experienced obstacles in the process of getting permits and interconnection approval, especially for a pilot project using an innovative energy technology. This not only makes pilot projects difficult to validate, but also slows down commercialization. It also provides an example of the challenges the market will face until products become more commonly used. For a research and development project, with a technology at an early development level, the usual regulatory and permitting costs, schedules, and requirements are very challenging to overcome. Based on this, a special category of permits and/or exemptions could be sponsored at the state-level to support the development and pilot testing of new technologies. Such an approach would make it easier to test new products, accelerate the proving process, and therefore, reduce the time it takes to bring it to market.
Specifically, the team recommends further investment to bring this product to commercial production. Additional funding will enable improvements to the existing design, but also allow the development of additional features enhancing the benefits of this technology, especially for its application to the tree mortality crisis. Some of these new features includes increased use of waste, higher electrical output, added combined heat and power, enabling usable heat, and increased production of high-temperature biochar.
Technology/Knowledge Transfer/Market Adoption (Advancing the Research to Market)
All Power Labs continues to share the development of this product with the public. It expects release of the Powertainer to the market starting in 2020. The team is applying all the lessons learned from this project in a new Energy Commission project, which develops higher-capacity power generation, increased biochar off-take capability, combined heat and power component,
