Improving Sustainability of Energy Conversion from Biomass Resources: the case of Bari Airport CHP (Combined Heat and Power Fuelled with Bioenergy from Short Chain

Harnessing biomass-derived energy can improve environmental and economic sustainability of a Combined Heat and Power production. The paper presents a new decision making policy and its application in meeting the energy up-grading needs of the Bari airport (300 kWe), based on an economic-environmental analysis related to the use of different bioenergy from short chain (<70 km). The main aim of this paper is to demonstrate how a "Zero Kilometer Energy" design model in a CHP plant represents a more sustainable alternative to the same conventional energy systems, regarding to the impact on the local socio-economic system. The study has been carried out in order to promote a synergistic and sustainable relationship between a territory and the infrastructures that service it, in terms of energy supply chain. For this purpose, three different bioenergy production systems (biomass from wood waste, vegetable oil / biodiesel and biogas from food waste) harnessing local agro-energy resources in Apulian region (Italy) were analyzed. The analysis has been integrated by a DCF (Discounted Cash Flow) Method, identifying the economic feasibility to make an informed choice. Finally the theoretical paybacks under different governmental incentive schemes, from 2012 to 2015, have been calculated along with estimated carbon savings to highlight the energy market trends for the different biomass resources.