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Wood pellet plant: drying heat by feedstock moisture, grinding and pelleting electricity, production cost per tonne

Wood pellet plant from wet sawdust or chips: feedstock and water evaporated from the moisture balance, drying heat, electricity, all-in CAPEX on Pirraglia's scale law and the production cost in EUR/t and EUR/MWh.

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Open Jack

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  • CurrencyEUR 2023
  • Battery limitfully financed
  • 67 documented assumptions
  • Updated2 Nov 2026

Mass and energy balance

What the asset draws and delivers for the case and load you choose.

Reference case

capacity factor: 91.3 %

Hours per year at nominal output. EUBIA's example plant runs 8,000 h; Sultana 2010 uses 7,200 h and Pirraglia 2010 8,400 h. Fewer hours spread capital and the fixed staff over fewer tonnes.

Flows

  • In: Wet wood (sawdust or chips)—
  • In: Drying heat (delivered to the dryer)—
  • In: Electricity (grinding, pelleting, cooling)—

Asset

Wood pellet plant

  • Out: Wood pellets—

Annual quantities at the current usage.

Finished pellets leaving the plant at nominal rate. 1-40 t/h covers containerized units to large export plants; it includes the catalogue products PRODESA containerized plant (6 t/h, the default) and AMANDUS KAHL press 65-1500 (12 t/h, a press alone, without drying or grinding). The CAPEX is anchored on Pirraglia's 8.93 t/h plant and scaled with an exponent of 0.7.

Feedstock input
— t/h
Water evaporated
— t/h
Drying heat duty
— MW
Electric load
— MW

CAPEX

Specific cost at this size, what backs it, and how it behaves with scale.

Specific CAPEX at this size

—

Reference size 8.93 t/h

Pirraglia 2010 p. 2380

Model value: Pirraglia's total installed cost escalated to 2023 EUR and scaled to the size. Customized: your own all-in figure per t/h, used as is at every size and no longer sourced.

Specific CAPEX (scaled) by pellet output (finished pellets)

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  1. Ex-factory
  2. Installed
  3. Fully financed· this figure
CAPEX at the battery limit—

Included

  • Equipment and installation
  • Indirect and owner's costs
  • Contingency

Not included

  • Nothing

Added at project level

  • Nothing: project mode uses the figure as is

Project figures

Values passed to project mode when this asset is added to a project.

Wet wood (sawdust or chips) in
—
Drying heat (delivered to the dryer) in
—
Electricity (grinding, pelleting, cooling) in
—
Wood pellets outMain product
—
CAPEX to the battery limit
—
Fixed O&M
—
Variable O&M, excluding feedstocks
—
Asset lifetime
30 years

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Pellet production cost

A standalone indicator for a quick read. Project mode recomputes it for the whole system.

—

  • Cost - feedstock—
  • Cost - drying heat—
  • Cost - electricity—
  • Cost - capital—
  • Cost - staff—
  • Cost - maintenance and consumables—

Linked to the balance above

capacity factor: 91.3 %

Hours per year at nominal output. EUBIA's example plant runs 8,000 h; Sultana 2010 uses 7,200 h and Pirraglia 2010 8,400 h. Fewer hours spread capital and the fixed staff over fewer tonnes.

Water as a share of the wet mass of sawdust or chips received. It sets the tonnes to buy and the water the dryer must evaporate. 35 % is the TFZ wood-chip price basis; fresh sawdust is around 50-55 % (EUBIA example: 55 %).

Moisture of the finished pellets. Sultana 2010 dries to 8-10 %; ENplus A1 requires 10 % or less.

Delivered price per wet tonne at the moisture entered above. Default 108 EUR/t is TFZ's wood-chip price at 35 % moisture (July 2026). A wetter feed should come with a lower price per wet tonne: the results show the price per tonne of dry matter.

Furnace case: wood-chip fuel price per MWh LHV (TFZ July 2026: 3.4 ct/kWh = 34 EUR/MWh). Waste-heat case: price of heat delivered to the dryer, often well below a fuel price.

Delivered price excluding VAT. Default 180 EUR/MWh is Eurostat's EU average non-household price, S1 2026.

Whole-plant electricity per tonne of pellets: grinding, pelleting, cooling, conveying. EUBIA gives 80-150 kWh/t; the default is the midpoint. Hardwood and fine dies sit at the top of the range.

Real rate for the capital annuity, as a fraction. Default 10 % is Sultana 2010's internal rate of return; costs are held constant over the life, so the rate is real.

Annuity period. Default 30 years is Sultana 2010's plant life.

Pellet production cost by operating hours

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Benchmarks

This model's figures against published references and reference cases.

Electricity per t of pellets, kWh/t

80 EUBIA

150 EUBIA

Process energy at 55 -> 10 % drying, kWh/t

1,140 EUBIA / Obernberger

Pellet production cost per MWh, EUR/MWh

85 TFZ Juli 2026

Pellet production cost, EUR/t

402 TFZ Juli 2026

Reference cases at this size and usage

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All results

Every model output at the current settings, grouped, with the sensitivity charts.

70 outputs · 4 groups · 21 also shown above, dimmed

Production cost

16
Pellet production cost
ComputingEUR/t
Pellet production cost per MWh
ComputingEUR/MWh
Cost - feedstock
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - drying heat
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - electricity
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - capital
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - staff
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - maintenance and consumables
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - maintenance
ComputingEUR/t
Cost - dies, rollers and screens
ComputingEUR/t
Feedstock share of cost
Computing%
Feedstock price per t of dry matter
ComputingEUR/t
Cost with a 0.6 scale exponent
ComputingEUR/t
Gap to retail pellet price
ComputingEUR/t
Cost as share of retail price
Computing%
Pirraglia production cost (2009 EUR)
ComputingEUR/t

Feedstock and drying

16
Feedstock input
Computingt/h
Feedstock per year
Computingt
Feedstock per t of pellets
Computingt/t
Pellets per year
Computingt
Dry matter in pellets
Computingt/h
Dry matter in feedstock
Computingt/h
Dry-matter loss factor
Computingratio
Dry matter lost per year
Computingt
Water evaporated
Computingt/h
Water evaporated per year
Computingt
Water evaporated per t of pellets
Computingt/t
Drying heat duty
ComputingMW
Drying heat per year
ComputingMWh
Drying heat per t of pellets
ComputingkWh/t
Heat supply efficiency
Computingratio
Drying heat bought per year
ComputingMWh

Electricity and energy balance

14
Electricity per t of pellets
ComputingkWh/t
Electricity vs EUBIA midpoint
ComputingkWh/t
Electricity inside EUBIA range
Computingbool
Electricity per year
ComputingMWh
Electric load
ComputingMW
Process energy per t of pellets
ComputingkWh/t
Process energy at 55 -> 10 % drying
ComputingkWh/t
Gap to Obernberger total
Computing%
Pellet LHV
ComputingMWh/t
Pellet energy per year
ComputingMWh
Process energy vs pellet energy
Computing%
Process energy rejected as heat
ComputingMWh
Operating hours
Computingh/year
Capacity factor
Computing%

Capital and O&M

24
Total installed CAPEX
ComputingEUR
Total installed CAPEX (MEUR)
ComputingMEUR
Specific CAPEX (scaled)
ComputingEUR/(t/h)
Reference specific CAPEX
ComputingEUR/(t/h)
Reference plant CAPEX (2023 EUR)
ComputingEUR
CEPCI escalation 2009 -> 2023
Computingratio
Reference plant rate (check)
Computingt/h
Direct installed cost
ComputingEUR
Indirect costs
ComputingEUR
Contingency
ComputingEUR
CAPEX per annual tonne
ComputingEUR/(t/year)
CAPEX with a 0.6 scale exponent
ComputingEUR
Exponent implied by Pirraglia's two plants
Computingratio
Capital recovery factor
Computing1/year
Annualised CAPEX
ComputingEUR/year
Maintenance
ComputingEUR/year
Paid labour hours
Computingh/year
Staff cost
ComputingEUR/year
Fixed O&M
ComputingEUR/year
Consumables per year
ComputingEUR/year
Feedstock cost per year
ComputingEUR/year
Drying heat cost per year
ComputingEUR/year
Electricity cost per year
ComputingEUR/year
Total annual cost
ComputingEUR/year

Sensitivities

5 charts
Production cost components vs operating hours

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Specific CAPEX and production cost vs plant size

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Water evaporated and drying heat vs feedstock moisture

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Production cost vs feedstock price

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Cost per MWh of pellets vs drying heat price

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Sources

67 documented assumptions · 10 sources

About

Calculator context

A screening model of a wood pellet plant (reception, belt or drum dryer, hammer mill, pellet press with conditioning, cooler and screen, bulk storage) for a feasibility study that has to stand in front of a lender. A dry-matter balance with Sultana's 5 % material loss sets the wet sawdust or chips to receive and the water the dryer must remove; each tonne of water costs EUBIA's 950 kWh of heat, a figure that already includes the dryer's real efficiency. Two heat sources: a wood-chip furnace at 80 % efficiency (Sultana 2010) priced on TFZ's 34 EUR/MWh, or waste heat bought as delivered. Whole-plant electricity is an input in EUBIA's 80-150 kWh/t range. The CAPEX is Pirraglia's total installed cost of a 75,000 t/yr, 8.93 t/h plant (USD 12.249 M in 2009, indirects and contingency included), escalated with CEPCI to 2023, converted at the ECB 2023 rate (17.32 MEUR) and scaled with the 0.7 exponent the authors apply; a customized all-in figure is used as is. Staff is held flat with size (Sultana: 4 workers per shift for a bulk plant, 1 maintenance worker, 4 salaried staff) at Eurostat's 33.5 EUR/h; maintenance is 2.5 % of CAPEX a year.

At 6 t/h (the PRODESA containerized plant size), 8,000 h, feedstock at 35 % moisture and 108 EUR/t, pellets at 8 %, furnace heat, 180 EUR/MWh electricity, 115 kWh/t, 10 % and 30 years, the plant receives 8.94 t/h of wet wood, evaporates 2.65 t/h of water, needs 419 kWh of drying heat and 115 kWh of electricity per tonne, costs 13.1 MEUR all-in and produces pellets at 267 EUR/t, or 58.3 EUR/MWh LHV, of which feedstock is 161, staff 30 and capital 29 EUR/t. Size matters through capital and staff: about 441 EUR/t at 1 t/h and 227 EUR/t at 40 t/h; a 60 % moisture feed at the same price per wet tonne gives 406 EUR/t. Recomputed at EUBIA's 55 -> 10 % example, the model needs 1,120 kWh/t against Obernberger's 1,140 quoted on the same EUBIA page: a consistency check, not an independent validation. Pirraglia's two published plants imply an exponent of 0.89, above the 0.7 applied, so above 8.93 t/h the CAPEX may be understated; Sultana reports 0.6 for wood pellet equipment, shown as a sensitivity.

Limits: money years differ (CAPEX 2023 EUR, labour 2024, prices 2026) and are not reconciled; staffing is EU-average and flat with size; bagging, transport and the feedstock supply chain are excluded. The retail pellet price (TFZ, July 2026: 402 EUR/t) includes VAT, distribution and margin and is a ceiling, not a production cost. The CAPEX is all-in and is exported to project mode with battery_limit = fully_financed.

Model

135 variables — inputs, calculations and outputs, with their dependencies.

135 variables shown of 135
VariableValueUnitDepends on
6t/h—
8000h/year—
1——
0——
2200000EUR/(t/h)—
35%—
8%—
108EUR/t—
34EUR/MWh—
180EUR/MWh—
115kWh/t—
0.1ratio—
30years—
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
if((<=)+(<=)+(>)+(!=)*(!=)+(<)+(>)+(>=)*(<=)+(<)+(>=)+(<)+(>)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(<=)+(<)+(>=)+(<)+(>)>,,)bool
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
min(,)h/year
/*%
*t
/(-)ratio
*(-*)t/h
*t/h
/max(-*,)t/h
*t
/max(,)t/t
(-)*t
max(**-**,)t/h
*t
/max(,)t/t
*/MW
*MWh
*/max(,)kWh/t
if(==,,)ratio
/max(,)MWh
kWh/t
-kWh/t
if((<)+(>)>,,)bool
*/MWh
*/MW
+kWh/t
/MWh/t
*MWh
//max(,)*%
+MWh
max((-*)*/(-*)**-*,)*+kWh/t
(/-)*%
/ratio
*/EUR
/t/h
/EUR/(t/h)
if(>=,,clamp(*(/)^(-),,))EUR/(t/h)
*EUR
/MEUR
/(++)EUR
*EUR
*EUR
/max(,)EUR/(t/year)
if(>=,,*(/)^(-)*)EUR
ln(/)/ln(/)ratio
if(<,/max(,),(*(+)^)/max((+)^-,))1/year
*EUR/year
*EUR/year
*+*+*h/year
*EUR/year
+EUR/year
/*EUR/year
*EUR/year
*EUR/year
*EUR/year
+++++EUR/year
/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/t
+EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)EUR/MWh
/max(,)*%
/max(-*,)EUR/t
+(-)*(+)/max(,)EUR/t
-EUR/t
/*%
/EUR/t

Assumptions

67 assumptions used in the calculations

  • Prevents division by zero.

    Market range Not applicable.

    0.000001
    Numerical constant

  • Named zero for guards (no inline literal).

    Market range Not applicable.

    0
    Numerical constant

  • Named one for guards, the annuity formula and the waste-heat supply efficiency.

    Market range Not applicable.

    1
    Numerical constant

  • Calendar hours, upper limit of operating hours.

    Market range Not applicable.

    8760h/year
    Numerical constant

  • 100 % for percent conversions and guards.

    Market range Not applicable.

    100%
    Numerical constant

  • Percent to fraction.

    Market range Not applicable.

    0.01
    Numerical constant

  • Unit conversion.

    Market range Not applicable.

    1000kWh/MWh
    Numerical constant

  • Unit conversion: MJ/kg divided by 3.6 gives kWh/kg, i.e. MWh/t.

    Market range Not applicable.

    3.6MJ/kWh
    Numerical constant

  • Unit conversion.

    Market range Not applicable.

    1000000EUR/MEUR
    Numerical constant

  • Selector value: drying heat from a wood-chip furnace.

    Market range Not applicable.

    1
    Numerical constant

  • Selector value: drying heat bought as waste heat.

    Market range Not applicable.

    2
    Numerical constant

  • Guard: the annuity is not computed for an economic life under 10 years.

    Market range Not applicable.

    10years
    Numerical constant

  • Guard: the annuity is not computed beyond 40 years.

    Market range Not applicable.

    40years
    Numerical constant

  • Share of the dry matter lost between reception and finished pellets (fines, screenings, spills). Applied on the dry-matter balance, so 1/(1-0.05) = 1.053 t of dry matter enters per t of dry matter shipped.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0.05ratio
    Sultana 2010 Table 4 p. 5613

  • Heat supplied to the dryer per tonne of water evaporated. The figure already includes the real dryer efficiency (latent heat of water is about 627 kWh/t at 100 degC, so 950 implies about 66 %); no latent-heat / efficiency division is applied on top of it.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    950kWh/t
    EUBIA pelleting economics

  • Net calorific value as received of the finished pellets, ENplus A1 minimum. Used to express the cost per MWh LHV for chaining with a pellet or chip boiler; a pellet above the minimum gives a slightly lower cost per MWh.

    Market range ENplus A1 >= 16.5 MJ/kg; typical 16.5-19 MJ/kg as received.

    16.5MJ/kg
    ENplus A1

  • Upper limit of pellet moisture accepted by the model (guard): a pellet above 10 % is not ENplus A1.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    10%
    ENplus A1

  • Low end of the whole-plant electricity demand (grinding, pelleting, cooling, conveying) per tonne of pellets. Used to flag an input outside the EUBIA range and as a benchmark.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    80kWh/t
    EUBIA

  • High end of the EUBIA electricity range. Used to flag an input outside the range and as a benchmark.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    150kWh/t
    EUBIA

  • Default of the electricity demand input and reference for the deviation output. The midpoint is not printed by EUBIA; it is a derived central value. Pirraglia 2010 gives the split of plant energy use (pelleting 13 %, size reduction 4 %, drying 70 %), which is why grinding and pelleting are not modelled as separate sourced lines here.

    115kWh/t
    EUBIA range midpoint

  • Published total energy demand (drying heat plus electricity) per tonne of pellets for drying 55 -> 10 %. The model recomputes this case with its own mass balance; both figures come from the same EUBIA page, so it is a consistency check, not an independent validation.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    1140kWh/t
    EUBIA / Obernberger

  • Feed moisture of the EUBIA/Obernberger reference case.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    55%
    EUBIA example

  • Pellet moisture of the EUBIA/Obernberger reference case.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    10%
    EUBIA example

  • Efficiency of the wood-chip furnace that supplies the dryer in the biomass case: MWh of fuel bought per MWh of heat delivered to the dryer = 1/0.80. In the waste-heat case the heat is bought as delivered (efficiency 1).

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0.8ratio
    Sultana 2010 p. 5616-5617

  • Total installed cost of the reference plant (reception, dryer, hammer mill, pellet mill, cooler, storage, building, installation, indirect costs and contingency), in 2009 USD. It is an all-in figure, not a purchase price.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    12249000USD
    Pirraglia 2010 Table 2 p. 2381

  • Annual output of the CAPEX reference plant.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    75000t/year
    Pirraglia 2010

  • Operating hours of the CAPEX reference plant; 75,000 / 8,400 = 8.93 t/h.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    8400h/year
    Pirraglia 2010

  • Reference size of the CAPEX scale law (pellet output of the cited plant).

    Market range No independent range cited.

    8.93t/h
    Pirraglia 2010

  • Second published plant size of the same study. The model does not use it to fit the law; it reports the exponent the two Pirraglia cases imply (0.89) next to the 0.7 the authors apply.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    19259000USD
    Pirraglia 2010 Table 4

  • Annual output of the second Pirraglia case.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    125000t/year
    Pirraglia 2010 Table 4

  • Capacity exponent of the total installed cost: CAPEX = CAPEX_ref x (size / 8.93 t/h)^0.7. Sultana 2010 says a power law holds up to about 10 times the reference size; 1-40 t/h is 0.11-4.5 times 8.93 t/h. Sultana reports 0.6 for wood pellet equipment (Mani 2006; Hoque 2006), shown as a sensitivity; the two Pirraglia cases imply 0.89.

    Market range 0.6 (Mani 2006, Hoque 2006, via Sultana 2010) to 0.7 (Pirraglia 2010, after Andersson 2006).

    0.7
    Pirraglia 2010 p. 2380

  • Alternative exponent used only for the sensitivity outputs (CAPEX and pellet cost at 0.6).

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0.6
    Sultana 2010

  • Used only to split the CAPEX into direct, indirect and contingency lines. The split assumes both percentages apply to the direct installed cost; the total is unchanged by this assumption.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0.24ratio
    Pirraglia 2010 Table 2

  • Used only to split the CAPEX (see indirect_cost_frac_in_ref). Because contingency is already inside the figure, the CAPEX is exported with battery_limit = fully_financed and the project adds nothing.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0.1ratio
    Pirraglia 2010 Table 2

  • Plant cost index of the CAPEX reference year.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    521.9
    CEPCI 2009

  • Plant cost index used to escalate the 2009 USD CAPEX to 2023 USD (x1.529) before conversion to EUR.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    797.9
    CEPCI 2023

  • Used only to state Pirraglia's 2009 production cost in 2009 EUR (same money year, no escalation).

    Market range No independent range cited.

    1.3948USD/EUR
    ECB 2009

  • Converts the escalated 2023 USD CAPEX and the consumables cost to EUR.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    1.0813USD/EUR
    ECB 2023

  • Numerical floor of the clamp on the scaled specific CAPEX; it never binds inside the slider range (checked at 1 and 40 t/h).

    Market range Not applicable.

    500000EUR/(t/h)
    Guard

  • Numerical ceiling of the clamp; it never binds inside the slider range.

    Market range Not applicable.

    10000000EUR/(t/h)
    Guard

  • Annual maintenance as a share of the CAPEX. 2.5 % is the general-equipment rate; the hammer mill (18 %) and pellet mill (10 %) are maintained at much higher rates on their own cost, so 2.5 % on the whole plant is a floor.

    Market range 2.5 % general equipment; 10 % pellet mill; 18 % hammer mill (Thek and Obernberger 2004, via Sultana 2010).

    0.025ratio
    Sultana 2010 p. 5613

  • Workers present every operating hour for a bulk plant: 1 supervisor, 2 machine operators, 1 forklift operator. The 2 packaging workers are excluded because the plant ships in bulk. Held flat with size: Sultana 2010 section 5.3.3 says nearly the same number of workers is required, and Pirraglia keeps labour unchanged from 75 to 125 kt/yr.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    4persons
    Sultana 2010 Table 5

  • One maintenance worker on a full-time year.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    1persons
    Sultana 2010 Table 5

  • Paid hours of the maintenance worker.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    2080h/year
    Sultana 2010 Table 5

  • Management and office staff, held flat with size.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    4persons
    Sultana 2010 Table 5

  • Paid hours per salaried person.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    2080h/year
    Sultana 2010 Table 5

  • Employer cost per paid hour, EU average 2024, applied to all labour hours. Country costs range from 11 to 55 EUR/h, which moves the labour line by a factor of five.

    Market range EUR 11-55 per hour across EU countries (2024).

    33.5EUR/h
    Eurostat 2024

  • Dies, rollers, hammers and screens per tonne of pellets. Converted at the 2023 ECB rate without escalation from 2007; at about 2.5 EUR/t it is under 1 % of the cost.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    2.75USD/t
    Sultana 2010 p. 5617

  • Retail price of pellets in Bavaria, July 2026 (delivered, incl. VAT, distribution and margin). A market ceiling for the production cost, not a production cost.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    402EUR/t
    TFZ Juli 2026

  • Retail pellet price per MWh, July 2026. A market ceiling for the production cost per MWh.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    85EUR/MWh
    TFZ Juli 2026

  • US total production cost in 2009 USD with US feedstock and labour prices. Reported in 2009 EUR (at the 2009 ECB rate) as a qualitative reference: money year, feedstock and labour differ from the model.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    203.7USD/t
    Pirraglia 2010 Table 4

  • Default feed moisture, wet basis: the moisture of the TFZ wood-chip price basis. The slider runs 10-60 %: dry shavings to fresh sawdust or chips (EUBIA's example starts at 55 %).

    35%
    TFZ Juli 2026

  • Default pellet moisture, wet basis; ENplus A1 requires <= 10 %.

    8%
    Sultana 2010 p. 5610

  • Default feedstock price per wet tonne at 35 % moisture. The input is per wet tonne at the feed moisture you enter: a wetter feed should come with a lower price per wet tonne (the model also shows the price per tonne of dry matter).

    Market range No independent range cited.

    108EUR/t
    TFZ Juli 2026

  • Default drying heat price in the biomass-furnace case: wood-chip fuel per MWh LHV, divided by the 80 % furnace efficiency in the model. In the waste-heat case the same input is the price of heat delivered to the dryer.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    34EUR/MWh
    TFZ Juli 2026

  • Default electricity price (0.18 EUR/kWh = 180 EUR/MWh).

    Market range No independent range cited.

    180EUR/MWh
    Eurostat S1 2026

  • Default operating hours at nominal output.

    Market range 7,200 h (Sultana 2010) to 8,400 h (Pirraglia 2010).

    8000h/year
    EUBIA

  • Default economic life of the annuity, equal to the plant life used by Sultana. Exported to project mode as the asset life.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    30years
    Sultana 2010 Table 4

  • Default real discount rate. All costs are held in constant 2023-2026 EUR without escalation, so the rate is read as real.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0.1ratio
    Sultana 2010 Table 4

  • North American sawdust plant cost: shows the direction of the scale effect (about -22 % from 6 to above 10 t/h), not the EU level, because feedstock and labour were far cheaper. Not used in the model.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    51USD/t
    Mani 2006

  • See mani_cost_usd_per_t_6tph. Not used in the model.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    40USD/t
    Mani 2006

  • Dry-matter balance: feed (wet t/h) = pellets x (1 - pellet moisture) / (1 - 5 % loss) / (1 - feed moisture). Water evaporated = feed water - pellet water, floored at zero. Drying heat = water evaporated x 950 kWh/t. Moisture is on a wet basis, in percent.

    Market range Not applicable.

    —
    Method

  • Production cost per t = [CAPEX x CRF + maintenance + labour] / t per year + feed t per t x feed price + drying heat bought per t x heat price + electricity per t x electricity price + consumables. CRF = r(1+r)^n / ((1+r)^n - 1), and 1/n at r = 0. Cost per MWh = cost per t / (16.5 MJ/kg / 3.6).

    Market range Not applicable.

    —
    Method

  • The CAPEX is the total installed cost with indirects and contingency: an all-in figure. It is exported to project mode with battery_limit = fully_financed, so the project adds no buildup. A pellet press or container plant price from a supplier (e.g. a catalogue press alone) is not installed: add dryer, grinding, building, installation, indirects and contingency before entering it as the Customized value.

    Market range Not applicable.

    —
    CAPEX boundary

  • CAPEX in 2023 EUR (CEPCI-escalated, ECB 2023 rate); prices of feedstock, heat and electricity are 2026 market prices; labour is 2024. No line is escalated over the life, so the annuity is taken at a real rate. The money years differ by up to three years; the gap is not corrected.

    Market range Not applicable.

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    Money basis

  • Single-input sweeps from the nominal case stay within about 166-441 EUR/t (36-96 EUR/MWh). The 8,192 corners of the box (both heat cases and both CAPEX sources included) span about 58-1,055 EUR/t: 1 t/h with 60 % moisture, 150 EUR/t feed, 4,000 h and expensive power and capital is the top; 40 t/h with dry feed at 40 EUR/t, free waste heat, cheap power and a zero rate is the bottom. Drying heat spans 5-1,353 kWh/t over the corners. Sultana 2010 limits the power law to about 10 times the reference size; 1 t/h is 0.11 times 8.93 t/h, a small container plant (such as a 6 t/h containerized unit) sits inside the range. Bagging is excluded.

    Market range Not applicable.

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    Validity domain

  • Inlets: wet wood (sawdust or chips) in t/year, electricity, and drying heat delivered to the dryer (MWh/year, which a biomass boiler can supply). Outlet: wood pellets in t/year. The cost per MWh LHV can feed the fuel price of a pellet boiler. Bagging, transport to the customer and the feedstock supply chain are outside the model.

    Market range Not applicable.

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    Scope