Techno-economic Assessment of Biogas Project: a Longitudinal Case Study from Japan

Abstract The development of biomass for energy production is largely encouraged on a large scale in local cities and developing nations, in addition to traditional domestic utilization. As a matter of fact, many biomass projects still operate, while experiencing low efficiency and operation challenges. This longitudinal study investigates the operation performance of a specific biogas project from Japan, with a focus on benefit and cost analysis. It is concluded that the financial imbalance of project operation in Hita, Japan stems from the narrow revenues and high expenditures. Apart from revenues from electricity generation and disposal fees, few revenues come from sales of industrial waste. Meanwhile, the depreciation of equipment presents a rising cost, which accounts for the large share of running costs. Moreover, scenario analysis indicated that the aging issue put the highest burden onto the project. Changing the feedstock of biomass wastes, promoting the consumption of fertilizer byproducts, and integrated waste management could be effective from a technical perspective, while flexible institutional and management adjustment could contribute to further improvement. The optimal scenario concluded with an internal rate of return of 1.31% and a simple payback period of 26.9 years. The profound investigation on a specific project helps scrutinize the potential drawbacks and challenges during operation.