The document discusses balancing Ukraine's power grid as more renewable energy sources like solar and wind are added. It proposes using biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants to help balance the grid. CHPs fueled by biomass like wood chips and husks can provide baseload power and also ramp up or down output as needed to balance the intermittent output of solar and wind. The document analyzes the levelized costs of operating biomass CHPs for balancing compared to gas turbines and estimates that a "three-zone" green tariff structure could incentivize biomass plants to provide both baseload and balancing services.

1. POWER GRID BALANCING
BY BIOMASS CHPs IN UKRAINE
Scientific Engineering
Centre “Biomass”
Institute of Engineering Thermophysics,
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Alex Epik, Vitalii Zubenko
June 2019, Targoviste, Romania

2. Evolution of installed capacities
from all RES types in Ukraine, 2014-2018
1.5 billion EUR – Total investments in the sector for 2014-2018
85% of installed capacities are solar PV and wind power
Solar PV householdsSolar PV Wind HPP (small) Biomass Biogas
1st
half 2018

3. Volatility for 2035 target for solar and wind
Hourly volatility of RES in the grid
Hourly volatility of wind and solar for 4th June 2017
RES generation for 19 Mar 2016: plan vs fact RES generation for 14 Jan 2016: plan vs fact
Wind fact
Solar fact
Wind plan
Solar plan
Data from “Ukrenergo”: https://ua.energy/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Zvit-z-otsinky-vidpovidnosti-dostatnosti-generuyuchyh-potuzhnostej.pdf

4. Example of real-time grid operation for 4-7 Oct 2018
Daily profile of electricity demand
Daily profile of electricity supply
from RES
Real-time profile of
electricity supply/demand
in Ukraine for 7 Oct 2018
Real-time profile of
electricity demand
in Ukraine for 4-7 Oct 2018
Daily peaking: 1-2 GWel
“Volcano-like” profiles
Evening peaking: 4-5 GWel
Operational data of “Ukrenergo”: https://ua.energy/diyalnist/dyspetcherska-informatsiya/dobovyj-grafik-vyrobnytstva-spozhyvannya-e-e/

5. Data from “Low Carbon Ukraine” Project, 2018. Policy Paper “Balancing of fluctuating renewable power sources”, implemented by Berlin Economics. Test runs of
LCO-OD-Model, v 2.1: http://lowcarbonukraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-11-27_PB1_Balancing_Renewable_Energies.pdf
Grid operation for summer days with different RES shares
Increase of RES capacities leads to
increase of their volatility and, consequently,
increase of grid balancing demand.

6. Prerequisites for engagement of biomass into grid balancing
 In December 2018, installed capacity of grid-connected RES in Ukraine exceeded 2 GWel,
out of which 55% is commercial-scale solar PV, 30% - wind power [1];
 Ukrainian Grid Operator “Ukrenergo” stipulates, that safe threshold of solar and wind
installed capacities in the grid is 3 GWel [2]. In case of continuation of current trend of
RES development, the indicated threshold will be achieved in 2020-2021;
 Currently, balancing of existing grid-connected RES is performed by coal TPP, which
causes so-called “green-coal-paradox”: more energy is produced from RES, more coal is
used to balance it.
 From the other hand, the trend of biomass-to-energy growth is foreseen in key strategic
documents of Ukraine: NREAP-2020 [3], New Energy Strategy till 2035 [4], Concept of
Heat Supply till 2035 [5], Low Carbon Development Strategy till 2050 [6]. For example, to
achieve the targets indicated in [4], installed capacity of biomass CHP shall increase from
current 58 MWel to at least 1.75 GWel in 2035.
 There are no principal technical limitations for usage of RES and biomass for grid
balancing, which is proved by the experience and number of researches [7, 8, 9].
[1] Statistics of Ukrainian Association of Renewable Energy: http://uare.com.ua/novyny/642-pririst-virobnitstva-elektrichnoji-energiji-z-vidnovlyuvanikh-dzherel.html
[2] Research of Ukrenergo, 2017: https://ua.energy/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Zvit-z-otsinky-vidpovidnosti-dostatnosti-generuyuchyh-potuzhnostej.pdf
[3] http://saee.gov.ua/documents/NpdVE_eng.pdf
[4] http://mpe.kmu.gov.ua/minugol/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=245230270&cat_id=35109
[5] http://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/569-2017-%D1%80
[6] https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Ukraine_LEDS_en.pdf
[7] http://lowcarbonukraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018-11-28_PP1_Balancing_Renewable_Power.pdf
[8] http://www.neocarbonenergy.fi/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/3_Child.pdf
[9] https://ua.boell.org/sites/default/files/perehid_ukraini_na_vidnovlyuvanu_energetiku_do_2050_roku.pdf

7. # Name of CHP,
company-owner
Fuel used Sector Capacity Put in
operationMWel MWth
1 “Kirovogradoliya”, PJSC sunflower husk Industry 1.7 33 2006
2 “Smilaenergopromtrans”, LLC,
Smliyanska CHP
wood chips District heating 8.5 40 2010
3 “Kombinat Kargill”, LLC sunflower husk Industry 2 20 2012
4 “Biogazenergo”, LLC wood chips Power-only 6 (18)* 0 2013
5 Agroholding “Yevgroyl”, LLC
Mykolaiv CHP
sunflower husk Industry 5 30 2013
6 "Clear Energy", LLC
Koryikivka CHP
wood chips Industry 3.5 10 2016
7 Rakhiv CHP wood chips District heating 6.0 10 10/2017
8 "SINGA ENERGIES", LLC sunflower husk Industry 5.12 25 04/2018
9 “Kriger” LLC, Kamyanetsk ORC CHP wood chips, straw District heating 1.2 40 07/2018
10 “Yougenergo”, LLC
Pereysalav CHP
wood chips District heating 5 12 09/2018
11 Mebel-service, LLC,
Radekhiv CHP (furniture)
wood chips/dust Industry 2.2 10 09/2018
12 FOP Peresadko RV Korolivka village wood chips 0.1 0.1 10/2018
TOTAL CAPACITY 46 (58) 230
Existing biomass TPP/CHP in Ukraine (Dec 2018)
* – only first turn in operation

8. 40 MWth
10 MWel
Biomass
boiler
Steam
reduction
Steam
overheating
Condenser
30 MWth
Condensing
turbine
Generator40 MW
40 MWth
Biomass
boilers
Steam
reduction
Condenser
15 MWth
Condensing turbine
with extraction
Generator
6 MWel base
4 MWel peak
Steam to
processing
Condensate
from processing
15 MWth
20
MW
20
MW
40 MWth
Biomass
boilers
Steam
reduction
Condenser
15 MWth
Condensing turbine
with extraction
Generator
6 MWel base
4 MWel peak
Steam to
processing
Condensate
from processing
15 MWth
Steam
storage tank20 MWh
20
MW
20
MW
10 MWth
Principal schemes of biomass CHPs/TPPs
to be engaged in balancing
1
2a 2b
1 – greenfield biomass TPP with condensing
steam Ranking cycle used only for grid balancing
2a – biomass CHP primary aimed for baseload
operation and partly engaged for grid balancing
2b – same as 2a + steam/heat accumulation

9. [1] Renewable power generation costs in 2017. Published by IRENA. ISBN 978-92-9260-040-2, 2018. 160 pages:
https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2018/Jan/IRENA_2017_Power_Costs_2018.pdf
[2] Energy technology perspectives 2017. Pathways to a clean energy system. International Energy Agency, 2017. ISBN: 978-92-64-27597-3, 441 p.
[3] The tariff for end customers for Kyivgas as for 1 October 2018: https://energy.kyivgaz.ua/ofitsijna-informatsiya/tsini-ta-tarifi-na-gaz.html
PARAMETER VALUE UNIT
Power capacity of CHP/TPP 10 MWel
Operational hours for balancing regime 1,000 hours/year
Operational hours for baseload regime 7,600 hours/year
Specific cost of biomass CHP/TPP [1] 3,000 EUR/kWel installed
Specific cost of gas-fired piston engine/gas turbine [2] 1,000 EUR/kWel installed
Specific cost of steam/heat accumulation 100 EUR/kWel installed
NCV of biomass 12 MJ/kg
NCV of natural gas 33 MJ/m3
Cost of biomass w/o VAT 30 EUR/t
Cost of natural gas w/o VAT [3] 300 EUR/1000m3
Average annual operational electric efficiency of
biomass CHP/TPP
25% -
Average annual operational electric efficiency of gas-
fired piston engine/gas turbine CHP/TPP
30% -
Input data for the calculation

10. Technology/
Operation
regime
CAPEX,
106
*EUR
(lifetime
25 years)
MWhel/
year
Fuel cost,
106
*EUR/
year
Maintenance,
materials,
EUR/year
Workforce,
EUR/year
Other
contingency,
EUR/year
LCOE,
EUR/
MWh
Gas fired TPP
baseload
10 76,000 8.29 929,100 48,000 926,800 139.4
Gas fired TPP
balancing
10 10,000 1.24 224,100 48,000 151,300 206.4
Biomass TPP
baseload
30 76,000 2.74 436,800 120,000 329,280 63.4
Biomass TPP
balancing
30 10,000 0.435 321,750 120,000 87,675 216.4
Biomass CHP
baseload
18
45,600 +
114,000
3.22 341,000 132,000 369,300 58.8
Biomass CHP
balancing
12 4,000 0.184 129,240 - 31,400 86.4
Biomass CHP
balancing with
heat storage
tank
13.2 4,000 0.144 139,200 - 28,320 77.9
LCOE for biomass TPP/CHP engagement for grid balancing
and gas peaking as reference case

11. Comparison of LCOE with other investigations
* Data from “LAZARD’S LEVELIZED COST OF ENERGY ANALYSIS”, VERSION 11.0, 2017:
https://www.lazard.com/media/450337/lazard-levelized-cost-of-energy-version-110.pdf
** Data from “RES development in Ukraine – Stabilizing the support for renewables. Low Carbon Ukraine Project. Policy briefing, Kyiv, 2019:
http://lowcarbonukraine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019_01_04_PB4_Stabilising_RES_development_ENG.pdf
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Biomass
peaking own
calculation
Biomass
peaking
Lazard*
Biomass
direct own
calculation
Biomass
direct
Lazard*
Biomass
direct Berlin
Economics**
Natural gas
peak own
calculation
Natural gas
peak Lazard*
LCOE,EUR/MWh

12. 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4
11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2
13,6 13,6 13,6 13,6 13,6 13,6 13,6 13,6
11,2 11,2 11,2
10,0
12,5
15,0
0:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
EURcent/MWh(el)
Baseload operation
Balancing operation
К=1,0
К=1,1 К=1,1
К=0,9 К=0,9
“Three-zone” green tariff for biomass CHP
5 MWel baseload + 1 MWel balancing
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
4,75 4,75 4,75 4,75 4,75 4,75 4,75
5
6 6
5
4,75 4,75 4,75 4,75 4,75 4,75
5
6 6
5
4,75 4,75 4,75
4
4,5
5
5,5
6
6,5
0:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
MWh(el)
Baseload operation
Balancing operation

13. 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
4 4 4 4 4 4 4
6
8 8
6
4 4 4 4 4 4
6
8 8
6
4 4 4
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
MWh(el)
Baseload operation
Balancing operation
“Three-zone” green tariff for biomass CHP
5 MWel baseload + 3 MWel balancing
12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4
11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2
16,5 16,5 16,5 16,5 16,5 16,5 16,5 16,5
11,2 11,2 11,2
10,0
12,5
15,0
17,5
20,0
0:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
EURcent/MWh(el)
Baseload operation
Balancing operation
К=1,0
К=1,33 К=1,33
К=0,9 К=0,9

14. 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4 12,4
11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2 11,2
23,5 23,5 23,5 23,5 23,5 23,5 23,5 23,5
11,2 11,2 11,2
10,0
15,0
20,0
25,0
0:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
EURcent/MWh(el)
Baseload operation
Balancing operation
К=1,0
К=1,9 К=1,9
К=0,9 К=0,9
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
2,5 2,5 2,5 2,5 2,5 2,5 2,5
8
12 12
8
2,5 2,5 2,5 2,5 2,5 2,5
8
12 12
8
2,5 2,5 2,5
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
MWh(el)
Baseload operation
Balancing operation
“Three-zone” green tariff for biomass CHP
5 MWel baseload + 7 MWel balancing

15. Conclusions
 The LCOE of “balancing electricity” for greenfield biomass TPP for grid
balancing-only based on steam Ranking cycle is 216 EUR/MWhel, which
is equal or slightly higher than for gas-fired TPP (206 EUR/MWhel) in
fuel prices for Dec 2018 in Ukraine;
 Partly usage of modified baseload biomass CHP for grid balancing
based on steam Ranking cycle have much lower LCOE of “balancing
electricity”: 78 and 86 EUR/MWhel with and without steam/heat
accumulation respectively;
 For new open electricity balancing market from 1 July 2019 in Ukraine,
there are no technical barriers for the baseload biomass CHPs to partly
operate as balancing facilities.
 To stimulate building of new “baseload-and-balancing” biomass CHPs it
is necessary to introduce “three-zone” green tariff with higher factor
for peak loads and lower factor for baseloads.

16. Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of NASU
Tel./fax: +3 044 453 28 56; +3 044 456 94 62
E-mail: epikbiomass@gmail.com
Scientific Engineering Centre “Biomass”
Tel./fax: +3 044 332 91 40; +3 044 223 55 86
E-mail: epik@biomass.kiev.ua; info@biomass.kiev.ua
Thank you for attention!
www.biomass.kiev.ua
www.ittf.kiev.ua