[Footprint] Biomass to Electricity

So we're going to burn our biomass and create electricity. We're looking for a simple mechanism, however, we first need to consider whether we are going to store any electricity in a battery. If we do chose to store some electricity then we don't need to be too concerned about accurately controlling the power output of the electricity generation - we can use the battery to (a) absorb excess power and (b) provide peaks of power. However, is it going to be 'better' to use a battery to do this task or is it going to be 'better' to use a form of generation who's power output can accurately track the demand?

A generator that tracks electrical demand is said to be governed. The more erratic the demand and the more accurate the tracking, the more expensive the governing system. So we see that the use to which we put our electricity might determine the choice of system providing that electricity. If we are aiming for simplicity, but have a demand for a high quality supply of power, then we may wish to use a battery system consisting of a charger, a battery and perhaps an inverter (although the inverter should be avoided where possible).

So we still haven't imagined the generator. One 'old tech' solution is the steam engine. It runs on virtually any combustible fuel, it's output power is easily controlled and it can be combined with the combustion chamber of a space or water heater or cooker. The steam engine would simply drive an electrical generator.

An alternative is an internal combustion engine (perhaps a small motorbike engine) running on woodgas. This was common during World War II for running cars - a wood burner would be mounted on the car, which would produce gas for the engine. This was rational because there were lots of cars around that ran on petrol, but without petrol they would be wasted. So, if you can get hold of a cheap, small motorbike engine this is an option. To create woodgas you basically heat wood up and a gas is given off.