Currently,fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas represent the prime energysources in the world. However, it is anticipated that these sources of energywill deplete within the next 40 - 50 years.Moreover, the expected environmental damages such as the global warming, acidrain and urban smog due to the production ofemissions from these sources have tempted the world to try to reducecarbon emissions by 80% and shift towards utilizing a variety of renewableenergy resources (RES) which are less environmentally harmful such as solar,wind, biomass, etc. in a sustainable way. Biomass is one of the earliest sources of energy with very specific properties. In this review, we present the different cogeneration systems to provide electrical power andheating for isolated communities. It has been found that the steam turbineprocess is the most relevant for biomass cogeneration plants for its highefficiency and technological maturity. The future of CHP plants depends uponthe development of the markets for fossil fuels and on policy decisionsregarding the biomass market.
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