In this analysis, we assume that 50% of all construction wood
waste is recovered and used to substitute non-renewable fossil
fuels in power generating plants by combustion in biomass-fired
plants. It was also assumed that the lower heating value of biomass
pellets from wood waste is 16.9 MJ/kg (Rakos, 2004; Hikiert, 2007).
The electric efficiency of biomass combustion plants ranges from
20–30% (Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department
Environmental Research, 2006). In this paper it is considered
that the electric efficiency of biomass combustion plants is about
20%; therefore, about 0.94 kWhe is obtainable from 1 kg of wood.
Some of the assumptions made for the calculation are shown in
Table 5.