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In recent years an active growth of renewable energy production in the world has been observed. The peculiarity of our country is the presence of a large number of natural energy resources which put Ukraine among the electricity exporting countries, on the one hand, and the availability of virtually all types of renewable energy production (solar energy, hydropower (large and small), wind, etc.), on the other one. So we made an analysis of possibilities of an introduction the renewal energy from 1% of total energy production we have now to a bigger number and proposes the steps to achieve this goal. Given the statistic and existing situation in energy market, the resource base for renewable energy sources and local fuels is large and sufficient for a significant increase in the energy efficiency and the reliability of Ukraine's energy supply, and can be the basis for the transition to clean energy for the future.

Nowadays the utilization of vegetable oils, particularly the palm oil, as fuel in the power plant, has made a significant development in the last few years. This vegetable oil can be used in particular in slow marine-derived diesel internal combustion engine (ICE), with an electric efficiency of about 40%. The efficiency is connected to the size of the power plant. Moreover, the considerable amount of the required vegetable oil to feed the system forces, especially in Italy, makes it necessary to import the fuel. This is the most critical element as the palm oil is subject to continuous variations in prices. Due to this variation it is difficult to stabilize a convenient fuel supply for a long period. The paper aims to evaluate and estimate the economic, technical and environmental feasibility of a 20 MW plant for the stationary power generation fed with palm oil, enlightening the system solution (technical constructive aspects) and the economic appraisal, on the basis of variations in oil prices. A comparison with a cogenerative power plant has been also carried out and, at last, the economic sensibility analysis based on the fuel cost and the European mechanisms of biomass incentives is performed.

By 2030, the United States will consume over 300 million tons of forest and agricultural feedstocks for energy production. The supply chain necessary to provide unprecedented quantities of new “bioenergy crops,” however, is fraught with uncertainty. The vertically integrated model currently used by the nascent sector may have limited opportunity for expansion to meet renewable energy mandates. A hybrid structure is likely to emerge as the industry evolves, in which end-users closely cooperate with a large number of heterogeneous producers through long-term contracting rather than as direct owners or operators of biomass farms. This “vertically coordinated” industry model is dependent on a series of biomass supply contracts between end-user and farmer. The “take it or leave it” production contracts offered by end-users represent the archetypal cost- and risk-minimization perspectives common in the fossil fuel-based energy context (e.g., petroleum, coal). These initial offerings lack many of the considerations provided in agricultural-based contracting and are unlikely to engender the level of dedicated energy biomass cultivation needed to meet renewable energy mandates. In response, we propose an alternative Biomass Contract Framework, which incorporates three separate theoretical approaches to contract design with the objective of removing barriers to entry into the market. Incorporating a socioeconomic perspective into the more familiar risk- and cost-minimizing approaches found in contract theory literature will enhance producer ability to maintain existing social networks, while minimizing farmer disincentives to enter into production contracts for novel biomass crops. Our Framework also recognizes end-users’ needs to meet emerging environmental sustainability requirements, even perhaps facilitating “shed-level” coordination.

The utilization of vegetable oils, and in particular the palm oil, as fuel in the power generation has had a remarkable development in the last few years. Generally the vegetable oil can be used with a particular marine-derived diesel ICE, with low rpm and an electric conversion efficiency of about 40%. The efficiency is strictly connected to the size of the plant. Moreover, the considerable amount of the required vegetable oil to feed the system forces to import the fuel. This is one of the most critical elements as the palm oil is subject to continuous and wide variations in prices. Due to this variation it is difficult to obtain a stable and convenient fuel supply over a long period of time. The present work is aimed at evaluating and estimating the economic, technical and environmental feasibility of a 20 MW plant for the stationary power generation fed with palm oil, enlightening the system solution (technical constructive aspects) and the economic appraisal, on the basis of variations in oil prices. Finally, the economic sensibility analysis based on the fuel cost and the European mechanisms of biomass incentives.