Why does it take 3-7 years to plan, design, permit, build, and startup community-scale biomass facilities? Unfortunately, up to half of projects get abandoned due to frustration, staff turnover, insufficient pre-construction funding, etc. Most project instigators want to make a positive impact on their communities and markets sooner rather than later. Reducing the time to get into operation addresses many of the barriers to scaling the biochar industry.

The US Department of Energy contracted with Forest Concepts in 2022 to improve the early stages of facility design and specification in ways that reduce time, cost, and uncertainty throughout the development process. The key output of the DOE project is a facility planning and operations simulation package that brings stakeholder and community needs directly inside the specification process. Appreciative Design (AD) tools are being developed to capture stakeholder input and translate that input into engineering specifications for equipment and operations. Secondly, Forest Concepts has developed an innovative, event-based Simulation of Processing System Software for Techno-Economic Analysis (SiPSS TEA). The new process is specifically designed for use with community-based facilities rather than large industrial complexes. A case study with C6 Forest to Farm in Washington State is validating the methods and their benefits.

Keywords: Facility Design, Specification,TEA, Modelling,Community Engagement, Techno-Economic Analysis