Economic Evaluation of a 1 MW<sub>el</sub> Capacity Power-to-Biomethane System
Attila Bai,
Péter Balogh,
Adrián Nagy,
Zoltán Csedő,
Botond Sinóros-Szabó,
Gábor Pintér,
Sanjeev Kumar Prajapati,
Amit Singh,
Zoltán Gabnai
Affiliations
Attila Bai
Institute of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Péter Balogh
HUN-REN-DE High-Tech Technologies for Sustainable Management Research Group, University of Debrecen, Boszormenyi Street 138, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Adrián Nagy
Institute of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Zoltán Csedő
Department of Management and Organization, Corvinus University of Budapest, H-1093 Budapest, Hungary
Botond Sinóros-Szabó
Power-to-Gas Hungary Kft, H-5000 Szolnok, Hungary
Gábor Pintér
Renewable Energy Research Group, University Center for Circular Economy, University of Pannonia Nagykanizsa, Zrínyi Miklós Street 18, H-8800 Nagykanizsa, Hungary
Sanjeev Kumar Prajapati
Environment and Biofuel Research Laboratory, Department of Hydro and Renewable Energy (HRED), Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India
Amit Singh
Environment and Biofuel Research Laboratory, Department of Hydro and Renewable Energy (HRED), Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India
Zoltán Gabnai
Institute of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Power-to-biomethane (bio-P2M) is a novel technology that combines the long-term storage of periodically available renewable energy sources (RES) and the upgrading of biogas. This article introduces a complex economic analysis of a 1 megawatt electric (MWel) capacity bio-P2M system based on economic characteristics considered to be typical in practice. The evaluation includes an investment analysis to present the basic scenario, a sensitivity analysis and a unit cost calculation to show the economic viability, the cost structure and the possible reserves of the synthetic natural gas (SNG) as a final output. The risk analysis is executed using Monte Carlo simulation, and the final results are the mean and standard deviation of the outputs, distribution functions and probabilities. Our results show that a significant state subsidy would be needed to boost competitiveness either in terms of investment costs (44% in our calculation) or in technology development to improve technological effectiveness. Another important competitiveness issue is the full utilization of the plant and the lowest possible price for the electricity used. If both cannot be optimized at the same time, then the first one is more important. Natural gas prices and the full utilization of waste heat might result in smaller changes.
