Biochar Production in Biomass Power Plants: Techno-Economic and Supply Chain Analyses

This report evaluates whether biomass power plants could produce market-competitive biochar and whether its agricultural value could support a regional market. A techno-economic analysis estimated a minimum viable selling price of approximately $150 per metric ton, depending on electricity prices, feedstock costs, and production conditions. The researchers also estimated biochar’s potential value for crop-yield improvement and carbon sequestration across the Washington portion of the Columbia River Basin. Without payments for carbon sequestration, only mixed vegetables could justify biochar use, and only under an optimistic assumption of a 30% yield increase. Biochar becomes substantially more feasible with a carbon price near $40 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent. The report concludes that widespread agricultural use of biochar in the Pacific Northwest will likely require policies that compensate farmers for storing carbon.